Detecting small moving underwater objects using scanning sonar in waterside surveillance and complex security solutions

In this paper authors present the research on capabilities of high-frequency scanning sonar in detecting small moving underwater targets. The state of the art on sonar technologies used in port security systems is described together with MSIS characteristics and its applications. The series of tests were carried in real conditions of security systems (port areas). Influence of scanning parameters (signal gain, beam range, scanning speed, TVG correction) on the object detection was tested. The relations between signals characteristics, image quality (resolution, bit depth) and object detection capability was determined.