FURI | Spring 2026

Tone Mapping on Buried Targets Using Synthetic Aperture Sonar

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Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS) is a sonar imaging modality that uses motion of a platform for synthesizing an array in order to create high resolution images of the scene being scanned. SAS with low frequency has the capability to penetrate the seafloor and observe partially and fully-buried objects in the sediment. However, visualizing these objects can be difficult due to the scattering effects of the sediment surrounding them. A custom dataset was collected from a controlled in-air SAS consisting of nine different targets, and incrementally buried in a pit of plastic pellets to simulate diffuse background scattering of the seafloor.