Abstract
The sonar task for dolphins perceiving their environment involves detection, localization, discrimination, and recognition of objects of interest. Target information such as range, azimuth, direction of movement, speed, and size should also be of interest. The ability of dolphins to accurately perceive their environment and to perform difficult recognition and discrimination tasks depends to a large extent on the characteristics of their sonar signals and how these signals are emitted. The signals must have sufficient energy to detect small targets at large ranges. They must also have sufficient information-carrying capacity so that fine features and characteristics of objects and targets can be determined by analyzing their sonar echoes. At a minimum, a dolphin sonar system should be able to detect and recognize prey, obstacles, and predators. The sonar task is usually performed in a noisy or highly reverberant environment associated with shallow waters, or during searches near the bottom or in the presence of many obstacles.
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Au, W.W.L. (1993). Characteristics of Dolphin Sonar Signals. In: The Sonar of Dolphins. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4356-4_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4356-4_7
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