Optimizing the directivity diagram of underwater acoustic wide band antennas

We describe the development of multisensor antennas in a specified band of frequencies using beamforming and processing techniques. This method is based on the spatial positioning of omnidirectional transducers and the use of specific professing in order to maintain the directivity diagram constant over the whole frequency band of interest. The digital signal processing algorithms associated with each transducer are based on RIF filters. The corresponding coefficients of the filters are determined by optimizing the desired antenna directivity diagram. We first present the method used, then the theoretical results together with those obtained during the experiment. Finally, we present some possibilities for making the hardware part of a real-time signal processing system suitable for such an antenna.