Abstract: An embodiment of a device for generating an acoustic signal in a fluid includes an engine operable to repeat a thermodynamic process to vibrate a membrane of the engine to generate an acoustic signal having more than one period. The thermodynamic process includes heating mass inside a chamber of an engine to generate pressure inside the chamber; in response to generating the pressure, moving in a first direction a portion of a membrane of the engine; removing mass from inside the chamber to decrease the pressure inside the chamber; and in response to decreasing the pressure inside the chamber, moving the membrane portion in a second direction. In an embodiment, because the engine repeats the thermodynamic process, the engine can generate and sustain an acoustic signal for a significant amount of time.

Abstract: A synthetic antenna sonar system, includes: a sonar provided with emission elements and reception elements, the reception elements including a composite physical antenna having N transducers, the sonar being located on a mobile carrier; an inertial unit arranged on the carrier and suitable for measuring instantaneous position and orientation informations of the carrier; a common clock supplying a temporal signal enabling the synchronization of both the inertial unit and the sonar; elements for determining the instantaneous speed of the carrier, the determined speed feeding the inertial unit to correct the drift thereof; and micronavigation elements enabling an image of the seafloor to be obtained through formation of the synthetic antenna channels from K sonar operation recurrences, considering that the physical antenna movement during the carrier displacement is fully known from the informations measured by the inertial unit.

Abstract: Ultrasound sensor (2), in particular motor vehicle ultrasound sensor, having a housing (4), having a diaphragm (6) which is mounted in or on a section (12) of the housing (4), and having a decoupling element (10) which extends at least partially between the diaphragm (6) and the housing section (12), wherein the decoupling element (10) and the housing section (12) have latching means (14) by means of which the decoupling element (10) and the housing section (12) are connected to one another.

Abstract: A computer implemented method and apparatus for identifying component breakdown of noise sources. Noise data is received for a noise source from an array of sound sensors. Measurement points of interest, candidate sound source points along an axis, and array aperture angles are identified. Sets of first and second bounding traces are identified from ray traces extending from the candidate noise source points towards the measurement points of interest using the array aperture angles. The bounding ray traces are rotated around the axis to form sets of first and second surfaces. Sets of first and second curves are identified from an intersection of the sets of first and second surfaces with the ground plane. Sound sensors are selected from the array using the curves to form subarrays. The component breakdown of noise generated by the noise source is identified using noise data from sound sensors in the subarrays.

Abstract: The invention is a method for improved active sonar using a singular value decomposition filtering and a Volterra-Hermite Basis Expansion to model real active sonar measurements. The fitting model minimizes the sum of the squared errors between a measured channel response, z(t), and model response, y(t), which is a fitted Volterra Series solution. The model requires as input an excitation waveform, x(t), to which is fitted the model response, y(t). A contracted broadband cross-ambiguity function is used to correct the excitation waveform for Doppler and range effects. Once completed, the modeled response can be used to determine the linearity or non-linearity of the channel effects. Appropriate measures can be utilized to reduce these effects on the measured channel response.

Abstract: An assembly for forming a container for transport and handling of at least two marine seismic source arrays, wherein said arrays each include at least one series of units formed by at least two marine seismic sources, characterized in that it includes a basic structure including a floor and a ceiling connected by central posts extending in a substantially central plane with respect to said floor and said ceiling, and lateral posts intended to removably connect the lateral ends of said floor and the lateral ends of said ceiling.

Abstract: Methods, computer-readable means, and systems for minimizing false alarm rates and operator loading while conducting multistatic active sonar operations are disclosed. A plurality of sensor nodes is established, with each sensor node including an active sonar source, and a receiver. Each sensor node has a local storage center, and each node is connected to a data fusion center. During active sonar operations, a high threshold (HTH) and a low threshold (LTH) setting is established. For each sensor node, all sonar return data above the LTH setting are stored at its respective storage center. The HTH is set so that only specular echo returns exceed the HTH; when the HTH setting is exceeded, the fusion center retrieves LTH data from each storage center corresponding to the same specular echo return, in order to establish a track for the contact.

Abstract: An energy based technique to estimate the positions of people speaking from an ad hoc network of microphones. The present technique does not require accurate synchronization of the microphones. In addition, a technique to normalize the gains of the microphones based on people's speech is presented, which allows aggregation of various audio channels from the ad hoc microphone network into a single stream for audio conferencing. The technique is invariant of the speaker's volumes thus making the system easy to deploy in practice.

Abstract: A system using beamforming techniques in conjunction with an active or passive acoustic buoy field, where the buoy field has a plurality of buoys, each buoy employing at least one sensor attached to and extending substantially downward from that buoy so as to form a planar or conformal array. Each array buoy uses highly accurate GPS tracking devices to locate that buoy's array sensor position relative to all other buoy arrays in the known buoy field. This accurate positional data is used in conjunction with the sensor data from each depth to beamform a planar or a volumetric array.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for real-time calculation of receive focusing parameters for beamforming are provided. The apparatus is coupled to the signal input end of the receive beamforming module of an ultrasound imaging system as an independent accessory, including a first accumulator and a second accumulator for calculating a quantified focus coordinate (Fx,Fz); a distance determination circuit for calculating the distance between the quantified focus coordinate (Fx,Fz) and quantified coordinate (Elexj,Elezj) of the j-th array element of a probe; a third accumulator for accumulating the value of i*N/2; and a third summator for reading the output results of the third accumulator and the distance determination circuit, adding both output results up and outputting the added-up result as a reading address of echo data calculated in real time. With the present invention, the system memory resource required is reduced, the circuit is simpler, and the parameter loading is faster.

Abstract: Provided is a method for recognizing a location to control the location of a moving object, the method including: generating a synchronizing signal for a plurality of ultrasonic satellites; the plurality of the ultrasonic satellites simultaneously transmitting ultrasonic signals respectively comprising different frequencies from each other, the plurality of the ultrasonic satellites fixed on predetermined static positions; a receiver, attached to the moving object, receiving the ultrasonic signal and measuring distances between the receiver of the moving object and each of the plurality of the ultrasonic satellites by classifying the frequencies of the ultrasonic signals; and calculating a current location of the moving object by using the measured distances.

Abstract: A distance and temperature sensing unit is used on paving vehicles. The unit has a first set of range sensors of a first diameter and a second set of range sensors of a second diameter. The unit calculates a weighted average distance to a road surface based on ranges measured by the multiple sensors. The unit also has a temperature sensor on a temperature bar. The bar is affixed to the unit by a flexible connection preventing break-off when the bar encounters obstacles, like the road surface, while the paving vehicle is moving.

Abstract: An obstacle detecting system for a vehicle detects an obstacle by transmitting a transmitting wave and receiving a receiving wave, which is a reflection of the transmitting wave by the obstacle. The system calculates a distance to the obstacle. The system varies directivity of the transmitting wave in accordance with the calculated distance. The directivity is lowered when the calculated distance is less than a predetermined reference distance, than when the calculated distance is greater than the predetermined reference distance.

Abstract: A sensing system is provided that includes a transceiver. The transceiver includes a transmitter chain that transmits a double-sideband signal having first and second frequency components, and a receiving chain that receives the double-sideband signal after it is reflected by a target. The system further includes a baseband circuit for extracting information content from the received double-sideband signal. A separation between a first frequency of the first frequency component and a second frequency of the second frequency component causes a spike in a signal response generated by one sideband of the received double-sideband signal to substantially overlap a null point of a signal response generated by the other sideband of the received double-sideband signal.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device for localizing acoustic sources and measuring their intensity comprising an antenna having at least two sub-antennas, each sub-antenna having at least two branches disposed in a cross or star shape, each branch being equipped with a plurality of microphones, and a system for processing the signals coming from the microphones, the device being designed to establish, for a frequency higher than a given value fc, an acoustic source hologram, i.e. a distribution of acoustic pressures or intensities at different computation points on a given surface.

Abstract: Sonar three dimensional data are represented by a two dimensional image. Pixels of the two dimensional image are emphasized if the if the three dimensional data associated with the pixel differ by more than a criterion from the three dimensional data associated with neighboring pixels.

Abstract: A method for dynamically reconfiguring elements in an ultrasound transducer array is provided. The method includes defining two or more groups of the elements in the array, wherein each element individually comprises a first switch, and a second switch; providing boundary definitions information to the elements in the array to define boundaries for the two or more groups; and locally determining switch configuration state within the array for the first and second switch of one or more elements based on the boundary definitions. Further, a switch matrix configured to locally determine switch settings is provided. Furthermore, a system comprising an array of ultrasonic transducer subelements is provided.

Abstract: The apparatus of the present invention consists of a MicroPower Radar (MPR), a data acquisition (DAQ) element and a PDA. The radar sends a short, low-amplitude signal of radio-frequency (RF) energy toward the target scene. This signal reflects from the target and is received as a Doppler change. RF has the advantages of penetrating clothing while operating at one fiftieth the power of a cellular or cordless phone. This Doppler change in signal amplitude is filtered, amplified and presented to the DAQ. The DAQ converts the analog Doppler signal into a digital bit-stream and passed to the processor. Proprietary software analysis is performed to further filter and to make a Live/Dead determination. The radar antenna is located at the back of the device and should be pointed toward the victim, the display facing the operator.

Abstract: In a first preferred embodiment, an underwater alert system (10) includes a transmitter assembly (12), carried by a first diver (14), that transmits a predetermined wireless signal (36) to a receiver assembly (16), carried by a mask (18) worn by a second diver (20), that generates an alert to gain the attention of the second diver (20). In a second preferred embodiment, the underwater alert system (10) includes a first transceiver assembly (232), carried by a mask worn by a first diver (14), communicating a predetermined wireless signal (36) with a second transceiver assembly (254), carried by a mask (18) worn by a second diver (20), to permit the first diver and second diver to gain each other's attention.

Abstract: A method for a computer system includes determining a model for a first personality of a component of an object, wherein the model for the first personality of the component is associated with a component name and a first personality indicia, determining a model for a second personality of the component of the object, wherein the model for the second personality of the component is associated with the component name and the second personality indicia, determining a multiple personality model of the object, wherein the model of the object includes the model for the first personality of the component, the model of the second personality of the component, the first personality indicia, and the second personality indicia, and storing the multiple personality model of the object in a single file.