Side-scan sonar image registration based on modified phase correlation for AUV navigation

In this paper, we propose a novel approach for SSS registration based on modified phase correlation, which is capable of handling low resolution and noise. The modified phase correlation combines threshold segmentation with phase correlation to carry out side-scan sonar (SSS) image registration. Image registration aims to transform images obtained from different views to the same coordinate. Underwater environment has poor visibility and the registration for optical underwater images faces various challenges. The registration method for SSS image is different from that for optical image. Region-based registration is more robust than feature-based registration for side-scan image because there are featureless areas in underwater environment and region-based registration can handle this. When an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) equipped with the SSS is navigating an unknown underwater environment, the ability to realize the registration between the current sonar image and the previous ones accurately and fast does matter. When compared to a state-of-art region-based and feature-based technique, our approach shows superior performance in accuracy and time-consuming.

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