Acoustooptic techniques have been used to perform computationally intensive signal processing operations and form subsystems of larger signal processing systems. Key aspects of acoustooptic devices and of the range of possible signal processing applications, including the advantages of acoustooptic implementation, are reviewed. Developments that improve acoustooptic device performance, increase system dynamic range such as by reduction of optical crosstalk from optical scatter and wavefront error, and implement data reduction operations that allow easier interfacing into a larger signal processing/computation system are described. >