Synthetic Aperture Imaging of Surface Laid Targets by Sound

This paper discusses the design and implementation of a synthetic aperture acoustic imaging system for investigating solid objects in an outdoor environment. Measurement results are reported for a setup consisting of a rail-mounted transceiver, digital data acquisition and control system, and local storage with data post processing capabilities. This imaging system works much like typical sonar and RF synthetic aperture radar technologies but operates above ground and uses acoustic waves in air for its interrogation.