Robust synthetic aperture sonar operation for AUVs

Synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) has been proven to work by a variety of groups-first on towed vehicles, later on AUVs-but still faces substantial scepticism among potential users, especially regarding the robustness of the technology. This is at least partially due to a number of inherently non-robust systems that have been fielded over the past decade. SAS systems have failed to reach their target performance for reasons ranging from the design, capabilities and configuration of the sonar, via the processing chain, to characteristics of the host platform such as motion instability, and the navigation system employed. This article attempts to systematize and describe the most common pitfalls, and how they can be avoided.