Real-Time In-Situ Passive Acoustic Array Beamforming From the AutoNaut Wave-Propelled Uncrewed Surface Vessel

This article presents the first demonstration of beamforming, detection, and bearing estimation of an underwater acoustic source from an eight-element thin line hydrophone array towed behind the AutoNaut wave-propelled uncrewed surface vessel. This has been achieved in situ and in real time during an experimental sea trial off the coast of Plymouth, U.K. A controlled acoustic source was towed from a support vessel while emitting seven tonals with frequencies between 480–1630 Hz and source levels between 93–126 dB. This allowed the detection performance of the array to be assessed and demonstrated for an acoustic source with known bearing and range. In postprocessing, the shape of the array was estimated using a cubic spline model, exploiting measurements from pressure and three-axis compass sensors integrated at each end of the array. The beamforming was repeated using the estimated array shape to infer the hydrophone positions, which resulted in a median improvement of 0.38 dB and maximum of 5.8 dB in the MUSIC beamforming output, and a potential reduction in the left/right bearing estimation ambiguities. The outcomes of this work demonstrate that the AutoNaut is an effective platform for towed array passive acoustic monitoring.