Study On The Beamforming Simulation And GUI Design For The Underwater Targets 3-D Imaging

There are some advantages for 3-D imaging sonar to observe the objects of interest more intuitively and acquire the corresponding information more comprehensively. The development of 3-D sonar is becoming more and more important for many practical applications involving ocean observation, oceanographic physics, and resources exploitation, etc. Consequently, the design and realization of interface of 3-D imaging simulation and sonar image display for underwater target are very important for the development of 3-D imaging sonar.Firstly, the basic working flow of imaging sonar and the principle of beamforming are introduced in this paper. Secondly, some beamforming methods, such as FFT beamforming, CZT (Chirp Z Transforming) beamforming and near-field focusing beamforming, are studied and simulated. Thirdly, the computation load of the calculation about time-delay and phase-shift beamforming, FFT beamforming and CZT beamforming is also estimated. Besides, the mathematical model for underwater 3-D field is established, based on which 3-D imaging of underwater target is simulated systemically.Finally, 3-D imaging sonar display and control interface, based on VC++6.0, is designed and developed using OpenGL. The software can accomplish kinds of display and control function, and imaging speed can satisfy the need of real-time display.