In a synergy of the AOSN and Multi-Static Acoustics efforts described above, GOATS is a new systems concept for acoustic observations in the ocean environment, replacing traditional hard-wired hydrophone arrays by a virtual array of small underwater vehicles, each equipped with a small aperture array, and linked together by high-bandwidth acoustic or optical links.

As such, GOATS is envisioned as an enabling technology which, together with new 3D modeling capabilities, can be synergized into an entirely new sonar concept for mine countermeasures and undersea warfare in shallow water. An initial demonstration of the GOATS concept was performed in the GOATS '98 experiment in May 1998 at Marciana Marina, Elba Island, Italy, in collaboration with the SACLANT Undersea Research Centre. A number of targets were buried in the seabed and insonified by an acoustic source on a fixed tower. An MIT Odyssey AUV was equipped with an eight-element acoustic array for measurement of the seabed scattering in three dimensions. These data are currently being analyzed for validation of new numerical 3D scattering models, and for investigating the use of synthetic-aperture array processing for seabed mapping in shallow water. A follow-up experiment involving multiple AUVs was carried out in Sept.-Oct. 2000 yielding a wealth of new data.