Operating and Accuracy Considerations

Like all sonar systems, the ROVL system is affected by multipath. Reflections from the ROV body, the surface and bottom of the water body, environmental objects, launching platform body, thermoclines, etc. all can degrade accuracy and can cause ghost solutions. Multipath often manifests itself as random spurious solutions interspersed with good solutions. Spurious solutions can sometimes be filtered out.

Aquatic vegetation between the system elements can and will cause severe signal attenuation and phase disturbance of the signals.

Examples of sources of multipath interference