Mine's eye: The resolution of sideways-on sonar images can now be enhanced using a more cost-effective system

摘要

A UK COMPANY has developed real-time sonar-imaging technology that uses a computer graphics card to greatly improve the image quality for side-scan sonar, as used in mine-hunting and pipeline surveys. Synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) techniques enhance the resolution of images processed from sideways-looking sonar by up to 10 times, but existing systems require expensive technology to estimate the motion of the platform, as well as requiring it to move relatively straight. University College London (UCL) spinout Bloomsbury DSP is using the processing power of an NVIDIA graphics card to run proprietary algorithms to deliver high-resolution sonar images in real time without these restrictions.