Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar for AUV Based Mine Hunting: The SENSOTEK projekt

Synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) is emerging as an ideal sensor for autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) based mine hunting and numerous other applications. By using vehicle motion to create a long synthetic array, image resolution can be increased by an order of magnitude or more compared to traditional side scan sonars. The SAS technology is also well suited for interferometric processing, facilitating very high resolution bathymetry and imaging from the same sensor. FFI, Kongsberg Simrad AS, and Simrad AS have started a joint project to develop an AUV mounted SAS system. The resulting sensor will have a resolution of 3×3 cm for both imagery and bathymetry, and area coverage rates up to 800 m/s. Integration on the HUGIN I AUV is scheduled for 2002. This paper gives a brief introduction to the principles of SAS, and describes the design, capabilities, and potential applications of the system being developed.