PFI-TT: Compact, Coherent, Hydrophone Array Systems for Real-Time, Instantaneous, Wide-Area, Ocean Acoustic Monitoring from Wind Farms and Other Ocean Platforms

这个创新-技术转化伙伴关系（PFI-TT）项目提供了通过被动声学快速观察大面积海洋和其他水下环境的技术。 相干水听器阵列是一种用于检测和分析水中声音的水下传声器，其应用于被动海洋声波导遥感（POAWRS）技术具有巨大的需求。 该系统将有不同的应用，如海洋环境评估和监测之前，期间和之后的风电场安装。 这些应用包括近海碳氢化合物勘探、生物和生态系统科学实验、沿海和海上安全以及观鲸和捕鱼等近海娱乐活动。POAWRS技术类似于卫星遥感。POAWRS覆盖的广度和深度有可能彻底改变海洋传感，使海洋透明，以便更有效地进行发现，并为可持续利用和管理海洋做出明智的决定。相干水听器阵列技术属于大型国防承包商的领域，该项目旨在使该技术更经济实惠，并可用于美国蓝色经济，商业，学术界，安全，海洋管理和保护。该项目将通过开发两种紧凑，节能，成本效益和用户友好的版本，将POAWRS技术转化为商业化。第一个例子将是一个固定的，三维，相干水听器阵列系统，适合安装在一个固定的平台，如风力发电场。第二个例子将是一个紧凑的，可拖曳的，一维，相干水听器阵列部署在各种海洋船舶。将开发一种内部多通道紧凑型耐压模数转换器（ADC）系统，其外形尺寸小，可嵌入细长管道中，可用于其他海洋应用。可拖曳阵列设计将重新设计，采用更小的绞车，以适应更广泛类别船舶的甲板空间，以增加客户群。将翻译POAWRS研究软件，并将其与图形用户界面打包，以便商业化。目前标准的水下声学传感器具有小面积覆盖、无方向性以及有限或无实时能力。相比之下，POAWRS提供大陆架尺度的实时感测，包括方位估计和声源定位。POAWRS利用计算机视觉、机器学习和计算加速方面的进步，为蓝色经济、学术界和安全行业的各种应用提供通用海洋传感器。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project provides technology to observe wide areas of the ocean and other underwater environments rapidly via passive acoustics. There is tremendous need for the Passive Ocean Acoustic Waveguide Remote Sensing (POAWRS) technology implemented with coherent hydrophone arrays, which are underwater microphones designed to detect and analyze sound in water. The system will have diverse applications like ocean environmental assessment and monitoring before, during, and after wind farm installations. These applications include offshore hydrocarbon prospecting, biological and ecosystem scientific experimentation, coastal and maritime security, and offshore recreational activities, such as whale watching and fishing. The POAWRS technology is like satellite remote sensing. The breadth and depth of coverage from POAWRS has potential to revolutionize ocean sensing, making the ocean transparent so that discoveries are made more efficiently with informed decisions for sustainable use and stewardship of the oceans. Coherent hydrophone array technologies reside in the domain of large defense contractors, and this project aims to make the technology more affordable and available to the U.S. blue economy, commerce, academia, security, ocean management and conservation.This project will translate the POAWRS technology for commercialization by developing two versions that are compact, energy efficient, cost-effective and user-friendly. The first example will be a stationary, 3D, coherent hydrophone array system suitable for installation on a fixed platform, such as a wind farm. The second example will be a compact, towable, 1D, coherent hydrophone array for deployment on a wide range of ocean vessels. An inhouse, multi-channel compact and pressure-tolerant Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) system will be developed with small form factor for embedding in slender tubing that will be available for other ocean applications. The towable array design will be re-engineered with a smaller winch to fit on the deck space of a wider class of vessels to increase customer base. The POAWRS research software will be translated and packaged with graphical user interfaces for commercialization. Current standard underwater acoustic sensors have small areal coverage, no directionality, and limited or no real-time capability. In contrast, POAWRS provides continental-shelf scale sensing in real-time including bearing estimation and localization of sound sources. POAWRS takes advantage of advances in computer vision, machine learning, and computational acceleration to provide a general purpose ocean sensor for diverse applications in industries of our blue economy, academia, and security.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.