Study on the Directivity and Signal Processing of Hybrid Acoustic Vector Sensor Array

A hybrid acoustic vector sensor array (HAVSA) is consisted mainly of pressure hydrophones and a few vector sensors within. It can acquire good direction-finding results as well as the ability to discriminate the left-right ambiguity at a considerably low cost, and thus is regarded as a promising novel array configuration. In this paper we have deduced the formula of the directivity of HAVSA, and analyzed its characteristics. Results showed that factors, such as the number and positions of vector sensors utilized in HAVSA, the steering angle, and the signal frequency will change the main lobe width, the height of the side lobes, and the left-right ambiguity elimination performance of the array. Furthermore, the general processing method of the HAVSA for DOA estimation is presented, and conventional beamforming (CBF) and Capon beamforming methods are applied. Results show that the HAVSA has the ability to suppress the left-right ambiguity, and the Capon beamforming outperforms CBF. The present work can provide a good reference for the configuration designing and the algorithm researching of HAVSA.