Abstract
This study proposes a method for generating a high-precision three-dimensional (3D) map using two-dimensional (2D) sonar images from an imaging sonar installed on an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The 2D sonar image sequence was analyzed pairwise to estimate the amount of displacement and used to create a 2D mosaic sonar image. The mosaic sonar map contains intensity information in a wide area and precise shape information but has no height information. To overcome this limitation, we can generate a 3D point cloud from 2D sonar image sequences. This method takes advantage of the mobility of the AUV to reconstruct the height information and partially solves the ambiguity issues in the imaging sonar’s elevation angle. The height map generated from the 3D point cloud contains height information of a wide area, but the shape information is inaccurate. By fusing two maps to complement each other’s imperfections, we can generate a precise 3D sonar map. This map enables the AUV to estimate the pose and recognize the surrounding environment. We verified the proposed method by conducting experiments in an indoor water tank. After placing various objects on the floor, the AUV with the imaging sonar scanned the floor and objects to generate a 3D sonar map. We analyzed the estimated AUV trajectory and the accuracy of the 3D sonar map.
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This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIT) (No. 2017R1A5A1014883).
Byeongjin Kim received his B.E degree in electrical engineering from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, Korea in 2015. Currently, he is working toward a Ph.D. degree in the Department of Convergence IT Engineering at POSTECH, Pohang, Korea. He is a member of Hazardous and Extreme Environment Robotics (HERO) Lab in POSTECH. His research interests include underwater robotics, sonar image processing, and SLAM.
Hangil Joe received his B.S. degree in mechanical engineering in 2012 from Pusan National University, Busan, Korea, and an M.S. degree in ocean engineering in 2014 from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, Korea. He earned a Ph.D. degree in the Department of Convergence IT Engineering at POSTECH in 2019. In 2020, he joined the faculty of the Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea. He has been working in the areas of underwater robotics.
Son-Cheol Yu received his M.E. and Ph.D. degrees from the Department of Ocean and Environmental Engineering, University of Tokyo, in 2000 and 2003, respectively. He is an Associate Professor of the Department of Convergence IT Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Advanced Nuclear Engineering with the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Korea. He is also the Director of Hazardous and Extreme Environment Robotics (HERO) Lab, IEEE Ocean Engineering Society Korea Chapter, Gyeongbuk Sea Grant Center. He has been a Researcher of mechanical engineering with the University of Hawaii from 2004 to 2007 and an Assistant Professor of mechanical engineering with the Pusan National University from 2008 to 2009. His research interest is Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, underwater sensing, and multi-agent-based robotics.
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Kim, B., Joe, H. & Yu, SC. High-precision Underwater 3D Mapping Using Imaging Sonar for Navigation of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle. Int. J. Control Autom. Syst. 19, 3199–3208 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12555-020-0581-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12555-020-0581-8