The synthetic aperture sonar offers the high resolution image via the coherent processing of successive echo data along the virtual aperture. The resolution is independent of the range and signal frequency. Because of the high resolution, the SAS is a suitable technique for applications such as searching for small objects, imaging of ship or plane wrecks, underwater archaeology and pipeline inspection. Consequently, the classification and detection of objects based on SAS images can be improved. In this lecture, I simply introduce the principle, disadvantage and potential application of SAS.

Biography:

Xuebo Zhang (Senior Member, IEEE) received the B.Eng. degree in electronic engineering and the Ph.D. degree in underwater acoustic engineering from Naval University of Engineering, Wuhan, China, in 2009 and 2014, respectively. He was with the Underwater Antagonizing Laboratory, Zhanjiang, China, from 2014 to 2020, followed by an Associate Professor with Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, China. His research interests include underwater acoustic signal processing, array signal processing, and underwater noise modeling. Dr. Zhang received the titles of “Outstanding Reviewer,” IOP “Trusted Reviewer,” Springer-Nature “Editorial Contribution Award 2025,” and “Outstanding Editorial Board Member” for prestigious journals, along with the Science and Technology Progress First Prize and other honors. Furthermore, he has been listed from 2023 to 2025 “World Top 2% Scientists” created by Stanford University and Elsevier. He served as the Technology Committee Co-Chair for the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society from 2023 to 2024. He was a Candidate for the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society (OES) Administrative Committee (AdCom) in 2025. He has been appointed as the IEEE OES Distinguished Lecturer (DL). Since January 2026, he has been serving as the Editor-in-Chief for Recent Patent on Engineering. He is currently an Associate Editor for IEEE Signal Processing Letters, IET Radar Sonar and Navigation, Electronics Letters, Circuits Systems and Signal Processing, and IEEE Access. Besides, he served as the Guest Editor for IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, and Remote Sensing.