Current military sonar technologies are extremely harmful to sea life such as whales, which can lead to beached and eventually dead whales, such as those present in the Canary Islands due to such methods. Large skeletons of whales surround the area, as a result of confusing military sonar leading to beached whales. This phenomenon is due to whales mistaking the sonar signals to be the calls of other whales, leading to beaching at the source However, Lori Adornato, a US military research manager at DARPA believes using the natural sound of animals to detect enemy machines could be doable and less harmful for nature.
Adornato believes that using sonar pulses – sound waves sent out for the detection of underwater objects – are too harmful for wildlife, and she instead proposes a new system. This system consists of a large system of small, powerful processors built into an underwater hydrophone, or an underwater microphone. These hydrophones will detect echoes of sound created when an animal of choice creates a noise that eventually reflects back onto the hydrophone, allowing for distance and time to be measured. Using this system has a wide array of benefits, including its broader, and longer coverage as opposed to current technologies such as sonar buoys. This allows for a more stable and reliable system for detecting enemy ships.
With this new system, Adornato hopes to incorporate “natural sound” into the detection of foreign submarines and other underwater vehicles, and many others are implementing her ideas across the United States in a variety of environments. For example, lead researcher Laurent Cherubin at Florida Atlantic University is experimenting with this technology on goliath groupers. A grouper can be detected from around 800 meters, or 2,640 feet away, using a wide variety of calls including those of mating or claiming an area as their own. Using powerful machine-learning algorithms, large catalogs of grouper calls are gone through, allowing for certain calls to be identified and used by the team.
Another group at Raytheon uses similar techniques, although the animal implemented into the system is not a mighty booming grouper, but rather something much smaller – snapping shrimp. Scientist Alison Laferriere explains the system, saying that they are “trying to detect the echoes that are created when shrimp snaps reflect off of the vehicles.” In other words, the loud snapping noises created by the shrimp will be used to reflect back onto the hydrophone.
However, there may be issues that the teams may face when experimenting with this new technology. For one, systems like these have been utilized in the past although many have failed such as a light-based system developed after World War One. Sidharth Kushal, a specialist in naval warfare, stated that “Cold War efforts by both the Soviets and the Americans to utilize [the systems] in a systematic way came to nothing.” Another issue is the environment in which these systems are being tested – all tests have taken place only in United States territorial waters, meaning their efficiency or use could differ if taken to other regions.
However, there is still hope for the researchers at DARPA, as they have completed the first stage of testing. Furthermore, with Adornato hoping to begin field testing in 2023, this technology may be transferred to the United States Navy for implementation into its system in the near future. In the present though, hoping for a reduction in artificial sonar and a transition into nature-based submarine detection could help to benefit both humans and animals in the long run. The military would be able to more efficiently detect enemy vehicles over long periods of time while also preserving the lives of animals sharing the ocean.
Adornato believes that using sonar pulses – sound waves sent out for the detection of underwater objects – are too harmful for wildlife, and she instead proposes a new system. This system consists of a large system of small, powerful processors built into an underwater hydrophone, or an underwater microphone. These hydrophones will detect echoes of sound created when an animal of choice creates a noise that eventually reflects back onto the hydrophone, allowing for distance and time to be measured. Using this system has a wide array of benefits, including its broader, and longer coverage as opposed to current technologies such as sonar buoys. This allows for a more stable and reliable system for detecting enemy ships.
With this new system, Adornato hopes to incorporate “natural sound” into the detection of foreign submarines and other underwater vehicles, and many others are implementing her ideas across the United States in a variety of environments. For example, lead researcher Laurent Cherubin at Florida Atlantic University is experimenting with this technology on goliath groupers. A grouper can be detected from around 800 meters, or 2,640 feet away, using a wide variety of calls including those of mating or claiming an area as their own. Using powerful machine-learning algorithms, large catalogs of grouper calls are gone through, allowing for certain calls to be identified and used by the team.
Another group at Raytheon uses similar techniques, although the animal implemented into the system is not a mighty booming grouper, but rather something much smaller – snapping shrimp. Scientist Alison Laferriere explains the system, saying that they are “trying to detect the echoes that are created when shrimp snaps reflect off of the vehicles.” In other words, the loud snapping noises created by the shrimp will be used to reflect back onto the hydrophone.
However, there may be issues that the teams may face when experimenting with this new technology. For one, systems like these have been utilized in the past although many have failed such as a light-based system developed after World War One. Sidharth Kushal, a specialist in naval warfare, stated that “Cold War efforts by both the Soviets and the Americans to utilize [the systems] in a systematic way came to nothing.” Another issue is the environment in which these systems are being tested – all tests have taken place only in United States territorial waters, meaning their efficiency or use could differ if taken to other regions.
However, there is still hope for the researchers at DARPA, as they have completed the first stage of testing. Furthermore, with Adornato hoping to begin field testing in 2023, this technology may be transferred to the United States Navy for implementation into its system in the near future. In the present though, hoping for a reduction in artificial sonar and a transition into nature-based submarine detection could help to benefit both humans and animals in the long run. The military would be able to more efficiently detect enemy vehicles over long periods of time while also preserving the lives of animals sharing the ocean.
