Broadband sonar signal processor and target recognition system

Target discrimination involves processing of sonar echoes in the time-dom and using features of the targets that the human auditory system uses (time separation and amplitude of echo highlights). Known targets are placed in the water and ensonified by multiple broadband transient signals. Echoes from each of the known targets have time-domain feature data extracted and stored to construct a library of known target features. Unknown targets echoes of transmitted multiple broadband transient signals are received and time-domain feature data is extracted from these. A comparison of the unknown target echo features with the known target echo features provides a discrimination of the unknown target echoes.