I-Corps: Commercialization of a Passive Aquatic Listener (PAL) Sensorfor Underwater Sound Classification

水下环境声包含有关声源的可量化信息。在500赫兹至50千赫兹的频段内，水声的主要地球物理来源包括破碎波的声音和降雨。海洋环境中的其他声源包括地震和火山等地球物理源，鲸目动物、鳍脚类、鱼类和甲壳类等生物源，以及船舶、工业噪声和声纳等人为噪声。受益于监测背景声的利益攸关方包括石油/天然气公司、近海能源生产公司、进行环境监测和影响评估研究的政府机构、私营海洋仪器公司和海洋科学和技术机构。这个i-Corps团队开发了一种低占空比被动式水声监听器(PAL)传感器，用于监测海洋环境中的背景声场。该传感器还可以探测暴雨、过往船只和海洋动物等声学事件。PAL传感器用于实时处理和分类来自自然和人为事件的水下声音。需要这项技术主要有三个原因：监测近海活动以进行环境影响分析；为探测海洋保护区内潜在的噪音污染建立水下声音预算；以及为气象、生物和国防应用对水下来源进行分类。PAL传感器是软、硬件相结合的系统。使用水听器(水下麦克风)捕获水下声音，然后对捕获的声音运行多种算法，以确定声源的类型，并量化其来源是否下雨或刮风。在PAL传感器内部还使用了采样技术，以连续、长期地捕获水下声音。PAL传感器用于实时处理和分类来自自然和人为事件的水下声音。可以探测到的潜在声源包括海洋生物、天气事件、海底冰的破裂、离岸钻探作业和船只。需要这项技术的三个主要原因是：(1)监测近海活动以进行环境影响分析，(2)为探测海洋保护区内潜在的噪音污染建立水下声音预算，以及(3)为气象、生物和国防应用对水下来源进行分类。广泛的利益相关者将从这项技术中受益，如石油/天然气公司、近海能源生产公司、进行环境监测和影响评估研究的政府机构、私人海洋仪器公司和海洋科学和技术机构。PAL传感器是一个软件和硬件相结合的系统。使用水听器(水下麦克风)捕获水下声音，然后对捕获的声音运行多种算法，以确定声源的类型，并量化其来源是否下雨或刮风。在PAL传感器内部还使用了采样技术，以连续、长期地捕获水下声音。

Underwater ambient sound contains quantifiable information about the sound source. In the frequency band from 500 Hz to 50 kHz, dominant geophysical sources of underwater sound include the sound of breaking waves and rainfall. Other sound sources in the marine environment include geophysical sources such as earthquakes and volcanoes, biological sources such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, fish and crustaceans, and anthropogenic noises such as shipping, industrial noise and sonar. Stakeholders benefitting from monitoring the background sound would include oil/gas companies, off-shore energy production companies, government institutions performing environmental monitoring and impact assessment studies, private marine instrumentation companies and marine science and technology institutions. This I-Corps team has developed a low-duty cycle passive aquatic listener (PAL) sensor to monitor the background sound field in marine environments. This sensor can also detect acoustic events such as rain storms, passing ships and marine animals. The PAL sensor is used to process and classify underwater sound from both natural and man-mad events in real-time. This technology is needed for three main reasons: monitoring off-shore activities for environmental impact analysis, enabling the creation of underwater sound budgets for detecting potential noise pollution in marine protected areas, and classifying underwater sources for meteorological, biological and defense applications. The PAL sensor is a combined software and hardware system. Underwater sound is captured using hydrophones (underwater microphones) and then multiple algorithms are run on the captured sound to determine the type of sound source and quantify the source if its rain or wind. Sampling techniques to capture the underwater sound in a continuous long-term manner are also used inside the PAL sensor. The PAL sensor is used to process and classify underwater sound from both natural and man-mad events in real-time. Potential sources of sound that can be detected are marine life, weather events, cracking of undersea ice, off-shore drilling operations and ships. This technology is needed for three main reasons: (1) monitoring off-shore activities for environmental impact analysis, (2) enabling the creation of underwater sound budgets for detecting potential noise pollution in marine protected areas, and (3) classifying underwater sources for meteorological, biological and defense applications. A wide range of stakeholders would benefit from this technology such as oil/gas companies, off-shore energy production companies, government institutions performing environmental monitoring and impact assessment studies, private marine instrumentation companies and marine science and technology institutions.The PAL sensor is a combined software and hardware system. Underwater sound is captured using hydrophones (underwater microphones) and then multiple algorithms are run on the captured sound to determine the type of sound source and quantify the source if its rain or wind. Sampling techniques to capture the underwater sound in a continuous long-term manner are also used inside the PAL sensor.