Modern, active sonar AGC design considerations

The following identifies key elements of the AGC design problem for active sonars. Because the character of the background noise and of the echo are highly dependent on a sonar environment that varies from place to place and from hour to hour, the signal statistics are unknown. Researchers have left the area of AGC design to practitioners; such designs are guided usually by heuristics. This paper follows that tradition. It postulates a microprocessor-controlled gain controller that adapts its parameters to the sonar environment. Since the sonar for which this AGC was designed is still in development, the performance of the AGC is evaluated with the aid of a simulation.