Development of a landing algorithm for autonomous underwater vehicles using laser profiling

Sangekar, Mehul; Thornton, Blair; Nakatani, Takeshi; Ura, Tamaki

doi:10.1109/oceanssyd.2010.5603850

Cited by 15 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Five dives were carried out in ROV mode to a depth of approximately 100 m at the Teishi Knoll, located in Sagami Bay in Japan and data was successfully collected. Landing was performed to take microscopic images of the seafloor, after an algorithm developed by Sangekar et al [9] determined a suitable site for landing based on sheet laser profiling data. That algorithm also used the same laser profiling data as the program described in the current paper.…”

Section: Results From Data Recorded At Seamentioning

confidence: 99%

Pixel based mapping using a sheet laser and camera for generation of coloured 3D seafloor reconstructions

Bodenmann

Thornton

Ura

et al. 2010

Oceans 2010 MTS/Ieee Seattle

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There are several approaches for 3 dimensional mapping of the seafloor in the actual colours, many of which require multiple cameras, elaborate algorithms and specially designed vehicles. In this paper a method is presented, which uses minimal equipment and simple algorithms for this task, while treating the data in a fully 3 dimensional way from input to output. Because of the reduced hardware demands, it is well suited for combined missions, where the underwater vehicle records some other data as primary task and the map created with the proposed method acts as a support for visualising that data and the environment where it was collected. I. INTRODUCTIONPhotographing and filming of the seafloor has been performed already for many years, with attempts of using a TV camera for survey dating back to 1964 [1]. As visibility is limited underwater, an image can cover only a few square metres, and so the idea of merging several photos into a mosaic emerged as a practical solution for wide area seafloor imaging. These days reconstruction of the seafloor has been taken to a new level thanks to the use of computers and digital photography. For 2D reconstruction, photos are arranged next to each others, corrected for difference in lighting and the transitions are smoothed [2], [3]. By overlaying such a mosaic on the topography of the seafloor, a 3D model can be generated. If the seafloor topography doesn't have any sudden changes in height, this method yields good results. However, pronounced vertical reliefs lead to geometrical distortions due to the perspective effect, producing artefacts in the mosaic and an inherently incorrect 3D reconstruction.Places of interest underwater often include areas with pronounced reliefs, such as areas where mineral resources are found, hydrothermal vents, manmade underwater installations, shipwrecks, coral reefs or archaeological sites. In these cases a method that handles the images in a fully three dimensional way from input to output is required to produce better results. High resolution 3D reconstruction using stereo photography has been shown by Pizarro, Williams and Mahon [4]. Much effort went into the implementation of the algorithm and an AUV that is perfectly suited for recording the images has been developed.While the above mentioned methods are used for mapping of the seafloor as a main task, we argue that generating a 3D map of the region where a vehicle was deployed while carrying

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Section: Results From Data Recorded At Seamentioning

confidence: 99%

Pixel based mapping using a sheet laser and camera for generation of coloured 3D seafloor reconstructions

Bodenmann

Thornton

Ura

et al. 2010

Oceans 2010 MTS/Ieee Seattle

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“…Finally, the pixel difference between the two laser lines is calculated based on the calculated averages so that the distance to the object at the center of the image segment can be calculated according to (4).…”

Section: Line Extractionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other, similar approaches have been developed for use with different tasks. For example, in ( [3], [4]) the use of a single laser line is used to generate full 3D maps of underwater objects. However, it can be challenging to find the entire laser line in environments that are not extremely dark, thus this approach can not be used in operating environments where large amounts of natural and artificial light may be present.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laser based rangefinder for underwater applications

Cain

Leonessa

2012

2012 American Control Conference (ACC)

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Autonomous vehicles working in unknown environments require tools that allow them to learn about their surroundings. Once a vehicle knows about the environment in which it is working, then it is able to move about the environment freely and in an optimized pattern to fulfill the required tasks while staying out of harms way. While various sensors have been developed for vehicles operating out of the water, the number of sensors available for use by underwater vehicles is smaller. A low cost sensor prototype for cluster distance measurements is developed for use in underwater environments. The proposed sensor makes use of a camera and two laser line generators. Using an algorithm based on the pinhole camera model, the sensor is able to determine distance information about surrounding environment. The prototype results in distance measurements with an error of 10% of the distance with a tested distance up to 5m.

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“…Four low range laser pointers are used at close proximity [12][13] to improve dead-reckoning navigation and motion estimation at slow speed. The use of a sheet laser, is described in [14] to enable to identify a flat area of the seabed suitable for the controlled "landing" of an AUV. A similar system is used for high resolution micro-bathymetr underwater archaeological sites [15] b contour of the sheet laser profile in image acquired images only feature the laser lin image data of the seabed) is available to estimated bathymetry.…”

Section: Proposed Techniquementioning

confidence: 99%

First sea trials of a laser aided three dimensional underwater image mosaicing technique

Brignone

Munaro

Allais

et al. 2011

OCEANS 2011 IEEE - Spain

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Georeferenced optical surveys of the seabed are obtained by composing mosaics of underwater images to allow scientists to study marine habitats, classify their features, quantify the population and measure the evolution over time. These are sought after tools but extremely complex to produce given the extent of the surfaces to map and the limited swath and range obtainable with standard diver or ROV operated image surveys. In this article we describe the development of an original technique based on the integration of laser light projection and digital image processing for the synthesis of georeferenced 3D optical maps of underwater scenes. For testing purposes a full scale payload prototype has been designed and integrated to IFREMER's experimental AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) Vortex. Promising results are shown using data collected during dedicated sea trials performed in the Mediterranean Sea

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Development of a landing algorithm for autonomous underwater vehicles using laser profiling

Cited by 15 publications

References 4 publications

Pixel based mapping using a sheet laser and camera for generation of coloured 3D seafloor reconstructions

Pixel based mapping using a sheet laser and camera for generation of coloured 3D seafloor reconstructions

Laser based rangefinder for underwater applications

First sea trials of a laser aided three dimensional underwater image mosaicing technique

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