A method of Navigation using a Modified Ultra Short Base Line Directional Acoustic Transponder

Undersea communications and navigation for UUVs are usually accomplished using separate onboard and off-board systems. Communications capabilities are typically reserved for command and control of the vehicle, and/or to move data from the vehicle to a gateway. As part of several US Navy programs, Teledyne Benthos has developed the Directional Acoustic Transponder (DAT), which uses a modified ultra-short-baseline (USBL) system integrated with a standard acoustic modem system. A bearing calculation method is described which allows the estimation of both bearing and elevation angles from the arrival times of a standard communications packet on the individual elements of the three element USBL array.