Multi-Sensor Towbody: A down looking and side looking platform for Detection, Classification, & Localization of inert munitions

MuST comprises a FOCUS-3 towbody manufactured by MacArtney Underwater Technology, two sonar systems manufactured by EdgeTech, a multi-beam system from RESON, a suite of towbody orientation and motion sensors, and a shipboard handling system. The baseline Multi-Sensor Towbody (MuST) hardware and operation are described. Next, shipboard data acquisition/visualization and post mission analysis are presented. This includes examples of the data products currently being used for detection and classification. Finally, the detection/localization/classification performance is quantified using data acquired over blind test beds placed in Sequim Bay, Washington, by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The test beds had 20 to 50 objects on and in the sediment within a 100 m diameter region. Both the number of objects and their positions within the region were unknown to the MuST field team. Results indicate that the hardware implementation and current software processing chain allows classification of inert munitions, with diameters at or above 81mm, with a probability of correct classification of approximately 85%. Furthermore, the difference between ground truth and MuST geolocations were 2 meters or less for over 90% of the targets detected. [Work sponsored by ESTCP.]