Building qualitative elevation maps from side scan sonar data for autonomous underwater navigation

Deriving a terrain model from sensor data is an important task for the autonomous navigation of a mobile robot. An approach is presented for autonomous underwater vehicles using a side scan sonar system. Some general aspects of the type of data and filtering techniques to improve it are discussed. An estimated bottom contour is derived using a geometric reflection model and information about shadows and highlights. Several techniques of surface reconstruction and their limitations are presented. A method is presented for feature extraction which is important for future data matching/fusion procedures.<<ETX>>

[1]  Vincent Rigaud,et al.  Absolute location of underwater robotic vehicles by acoustic data fusion , 1990, Proceedings., IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[2]  Jay Gowdy,et al.  Annotated maps for autonomous land vehicles , 1990, 1990 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Conference Proceedings.

[3]  Alberto Elfes.  A sonar-based mapping and navigation system , 1986, Proceedings. 1986 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[4]  S. Chappell,et al.  A Simple World Model for an Autonomous Vehicle , 1989, Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on Unmanned Untethered Submersible Technology,.

[5]  Martial Hebert,et al.  Three-Dimensional Map Generation From Side-Scan Sonar Images , 1990 .

[6]  Robert J. Urick,et al.  Principles of underwater sound , 1975 .

[7]  Andrew Blake,et al.  Visual Reconstruction , 1987, Deep Learning for EEG-Based Brain–Computer Interfaces.

[8]  E. Geyer,et al.  Characteristics and capabilities of navigation systems for unmanned untethered submersibles , 1987, Proceedings of the 1987 5th International Symposium on Unmanned Untethered Submersible Technology.

[9]  Takeo Kanade,et al.  Surface Reflection: Physical and Geometrical Perspectives , 1989, IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell..

[10]  W. K. Stewart,et al.  Three-Dimensional Modeling of Seafloor Backscatter from Sidescan Sonar for Autonomous Classification and Navigation , 1989, Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on Unmanned Untethered Submersible Technology,.

[11]  Martial Hebert,et al.  Terrain Modeling for Autonomous Underwater Navigation , 1989, Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on Unmanned Untethered Submersible Technology,.