Sonar target discrimination by instrumented human divers

Abstract

A series of sonar discrimination experiments was performed using instrumented human divers wearing a helmet with a sending and 2 receiving transducers. Porpoiselike broad-band clicks, with energy centered about 60 kHz, were projected and the returning echoes stretched electronically in time by a factor of 128 to enable the divers to hear them. Data were collected using metallic plate targets and targets of different geometrical shapes that were previously used in experiments with a porpoise. A comparison of scores indicated that the instrumented divers performed as well as, and in some cases better than, the porpoise.