GRASP: an object-oriented approach to sonar performance modeling and tactical ASW search planning

The Genetic Range-dependent Algorithm for Search Planning (GRASP), developed by the Naval Research Laboratory, is a software tool developed to objectively determine near-optimal tactics for the detection of submerged and moving targets from a moving sonar sensor. Early prototypes of GRASP were developed to exploit high-resolution acoustic modeling of inhomogeneous environments, in order to predict sonar system performance. At its core, GRASP uses the Genetic Algorithm (GA) to determine the optimal search tactic (e.g. tracks, depths, modes, etc.) for a sensor that maximizes a user-selected measure-of-effectiveness against a hypothesized threat distribution. This paper describes the integration of GRASP, with the Mission Planning System (MPS), developed by the Naval Surface Warfare Center. MPS is a development tactical decision aid and for the purpose of this discussion provides a graphical user interface through which GRASP's capabilities may be accessed. This amalgamation, called the ASW Mission Planning Tool (AMPT) is a Web-centric, client/server system, designed to address an entirely new set of requirements. The result is a fully integrated, completely automated, flexible, reconfigurable, deployable, and scalable system that seamlessly performs oceanographic database extraction, sonar performance modeling, and optimal ASW search planning.