Passive underwater acoustic barcodes using Rayleigh wave resonance

TL;DR

This paper introduces passive underwater acoustic barcodes based on Rayleigh wave resonance, demonstrating their potential for recognition, positioning, and navigation with experimental validation and numerical analysis.

Contribution

It presents a novel passive acoustic marker design utilizing Rayleigh wave resonance, offering a cost-effective, durable, and wide-band alternative to active markers.

Findings

Successful numerical and experimental validation of acoustic barcodes

Markers exhibit unique signatures for recognition and navigation

Operation in wider frequency bands with longer lifespan

Abstract

A passive underwater acoustic marker is presented and its feasibility for underwater recognition, positioning, and navigation is proved by a numerical method and experimental results. These markers are composed of acrylic elastic objects designed by backscattering strong peaks associated with the subsonic Rayleigh wave resonance of a polymer target excited by a broadband pulse, and having a unique acoustic signature for a selected frequency band, akin to acoustic barcodes. Therefore, the backscattering response of markers can be regulated by changing the geometry of elastic objects. These acoustic barcodes naturally operate in a wider frequency band, and have a longer lifetime and lower cost, compared with active acoustic markers.