Mathematical model of acoustic method of orientation in an environment with unsatisfactory visual control

 

Levterov Alexander

National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5926-7146

 

Statyvka Yevhenii

National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1536-2031

 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.52363/2524-0226-2026-43-16

 

Keywords: acoustic orientation method, poor visual control, mathematical model, acoustic waves

 

Аnnotation

 

It is substantiated that, under conditions of poor visual control caused by fires, smoke, struc-tural collapse, and other manifestations of emergency situations of fire-related or technogenic origin, the acoustic channel should be considered as an additional source of navigation information during rescue operations. The influence of emergency factors on the propagation and reflection parameters of the acoustic signal is determined. The features of acoustic wave propagation are established with re-gard to the temperature gradient, concentration of suspended particles, acoustic impedance of the medium and the obstacle, as well as the angle of incidence of the acoustic wave on the object surface. It is shown that these factors modify the kinematic and energy characteristics of the signal, which directly affects the accuracy of obstacle distance estimation and environment configuration recon-struction. A mathematical model of the acoustic orientation method is developed, which accounts for the combined influence of emergency factors on the physical properties of acoustic waves and inte-grates the time and amplitude characteristics of the reflected signal within a unified optimization pro-cedure. An algorithm for determining the environment configuration is proposed, which implements sector-based space zoning, multichannel sensor interrogation, correction of environmental parame-ters, formation of corrected distances, and inter-sector coordination of results. The scientific novelty lies in the formalization of the combined influence of emergency factors on acoustic signal parame-ters within a unified mathematical model of orientation. The practical significance of the obtained results lies in creating a theoretical basis for the development of a wearable acoustic orientation sys-tem for rescuers under conditions of poor visual control.

 

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Received by the editorial board: 10.03.2026

Accepted for publication: 13.04.2026

Date of publication (release): 31.05.2026