Range ambiguity resolution method for synchronous underwater acoustic positioning with high frame rate

To effectively suppress range ambiguity that may be experienced by synchronous underwater acoustic positioning systems with a high frame rate and improve the systems' performance, considering that the measurement of a signal's direction of arrival (DOA) is unaffected by range ambiguity, in this study, we propose a range ambiguity resolution method based on differential evolution and time of arrival (TOA) DOA fusion. With respect to parameter estimation, we construct the TOA-DOA fusion optimization model based on the maximum likelihood criterion. We solve the nonlinear multimodal optimization problem through differential evolution. Simulation results show that the constraint function effectively limits the area in which a target is located and suppresses the premature convergence of differential evolution. Thus, a target moving in a large scope can be located without ambiguity. Sea trial results demonstrate the effectiveness of this range-ambiguity-resistant method.