Correlation based testing for passive sonar picture rationalization

Abstract

-Modern passive sonar systems employ a high degree of automation to produce a track-level sonar picture.Further refinement of the track-level information is normally performed by a human operator. Providing automated assistance would reduce the operator's workload and is a key enabler for semiand fully automated sonar systems. The nature of the signals emitted by targets and of the underwater environment typically results in each target being represented by multiple track segments. A tool is required which can numerically describe the relationship between pairs of track segments so that those that apparently share a common origin can be identified automatically.The sample correlation coefficient, is a statistical measure of relatedness. This paper describes the application of a test based on that measure to compare tracks produced by a probabilistic data association filter from a set of towed array sonar data.