AN ACOUSTIC / RADAR SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED DETECTION, LOCALIZATION, AND CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS IN THE VICINITY OF AIRFIELDS

Bird-aircraft collisions present a significant threat to military and commercial aircraft, and as bird populations and air traffic continue to grow, and airport/airbase operations continue to expand, the problem will steadily get worse. To help mitigate bird strike hazards, we propose a multi-sensor system consisting of ground radar and acoustic sensors that can directly monitor bird activity and provide an alert when a threat condition occurs. Radar offers a large detection range and the ability to detect in all weather conditions, while acoustic sensors allow the ability to detect targets in the midst of clutter and add the capability to classify. A multi-sensor approach ensures that the system can provide bird strike monitoring capability in any situation with a low false alarm rate. As the Phase II effort of an Air Force STTR project, we have constructed and tested a microphone array adapted from state-of-the-art undersea warfare sensor technology that measures accurate angles to any acoustic source (broadband or narrowband) and a parabolic dish microphone which provides high-gain data on targets of interest. A test was conducted near Panama City / Bay County International Airport in conjunction with the Merlin Bird Detection Radar designed by DeTect, Inc. Results of this test will be presented and show that the acoustic array is capable of detecting, localizing in angle, and tracking multiple targets simultaneously, including birds, bats, aircraft, automobiles, people, and boats. The parabolic dish microphone was able to provide very high-gain acoustic data on several of these targets. The radar data was used as truth data for acoustic sensor performance evaluation and to determine situations in which the acoustic data can benefit the radar. Altogether, almost three days of continuous acoustic and radar data were collected, and analysis of these data show that the hybrid radar-acoustic system can provide bird strike avoidance capability

AN ACOUSTIC / RADAR SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED DETECTION, LOCALIZATION, AND CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS IN THE VICINITY OF AIRFIELDS

Bird-aircraft collisions present a significant threat to military and commercial aircraft, and as bird populations and air traffic continue to grow, and airport/airbase operations continue to expand, the problem will steadily get worse. To help mitigate bird strike hazards, we propose a multi-sensor system consisting of ground radar and acoustic sensors that can directly monitor bird activity and provide an alert when a threat condition occurs. Radar offers a large detection range and the ability to detect in all weather conditions, while acoustic sensors allow the ability to detect targets in the midst of clutter and add the capability to classify. A multi-sensor approach ensures that the system can provide bird strike monitoring capability in any situation with a low false alarm rate. As the Phase II effort of an Air Force STTR project, we have constructed and tested a microphone array adapted from state-of-the-art undersea warfare sensor technology that measures accurate angles to any acoustic source (broadband or narrowband) and a parabolic dish microphone which provides high-gain data on targets of interest. A test was conducted near Panama City / Bay County International Airport in conjunction with the Merlin Bird Detection Radar designed by DeTect, Inc. Results of this test will be presented and show that the acoustic array is capable of detecting, localizing in angle, and tracking multiple targets simultaneously, including birds, bats, aircraft, automobiles, people, and boats. The parabolic dish microphone was able to provide very high-gain acoustic data on several of these targets. The radar data was used as truth data for acoustic sensor performance evaluation and to determine situations in which the acoustic data can benefit the radar. Altogether, almost three days of continuous acoustic and radar data were collected, and analysis of these data show that the hybrid radar-acoustic system can provide bird strike avoidance capability

Sound‐guided assessment and localization of pulmonary air leak

Abstract Pulmonary air leak is the most common complication of lung surgery, with air leaks that persist longer than 5 days representing a major source of post‐surgery morbidity. Clinical management of air leaks is challenging due to limited methods to precisely locate and assess leaks. Here, we present a sound‐guided methodology that enables rapid quantitative assessment and precise localization of air leaks by analyzing the distinct sounds generated as the air escapes through defective lung tissue. Air leaks often present after lung surgery due to loss of tissue integrity at or near a staple line. Accordingly, we investigated air leak sounds from a focal pleural defect in a rat model and from a staple line failure in a clinically relevant swine model to demonstrate the high sensitivity and translational potential of this approach. In rat and swine models of free‐flowing air leak under positive pressure ventilation with intrapleural microphone 1 cm from the lung surface, we identified that: (a) pulmonary air leaks generate sounds that contain distinct harmonic series, (b) acoustic characteristics of air leak sounds can be used to classify leak severity, and (c) precise location of the air leak can be determined with high resolution (within 1 cm) by mapping the sound loudness level across the lung surface. Our findings suggest that sound‐guided assessment and localization of pulmonary air leaks could serve as a diagnostic tool to inform air leak detection and treatment strategies during video‐assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) or thoracotomy procedures