Source localization based on two underwater acoustic gliders in deep water

A joint underwater acoustic localization method based on acoustic glider is proposed to verify the feasibility of multiple gliders for range and orientation estimation of underwater sources. Using the hydrologic and acoustic data acquired by gliders in the eastern Indian Ocean, the broadband pulse multiple-path propagation characteristic along the distance is analyzed. A range estimation method for sound sources based on pulse waveform matching using a single hydrophone is proposed. For a source with an unknown location, the structure of the pulse waveform can be obtained from the experiment. According to the environmental information acquired, the copy field for the structure of pulse waveform at the different ranges is numerically calculated. After the process of correlating the experimental and simulation signals, the range estimation is realized corresponding to the maximum value of the correlation coefficient. Based on this, range and orientation estimation of underwater sources are achieved through the collaboration of two underwater gliders. The results show that within 100 km, the range estimation can be achieved by the single acoustic glider and there are still some points of large estimation error. The collaboration of two underwater gliders is used to improve the accuracy of range estimation. For the source depth of 200 m, the root mean square error (RMSE) of range and orientation estimation is 2.5 km and 2.4° respectively. © 2023 Science Press. All rights reserved.