Mapping of complex marine environments using an unmanned surface craft

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 185-199).Recent technology has combined accurate GPS localization with mapping to build 3D maps in a diverse range of terrestrial environments, but the mapping of marine environments lags behind. This is particularly true in shallow water and coastal areas with man-made structures such as bridges, piers, and marinas, which can pose formidable challenges to autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) operations. In this thesis, we propose a new approach for mapping shallow water marine environments, combining data from both above and below the water in a robust probabilistic state estimation framework. The ability to rapidly acquire detailed maps of these environments would have many applications, including surveillance, environmental monitoring, forensic search, and disaster recovery. Whereas most recent AUV mapping research has been limited to open waters, far from man-made surface structures, in our work we focus on complex shallow water environments, such as rivers and harbors, where man-made structures block GPS signals and pose hazards to navigation. Our goal is to enable an autonomous surface craft to combine data from the heterogeneous environments above and below the water surface - as if the water were drained, and we had a complete integrated model of the marine environment, with full visibility. To tackle this problem, we propose a new framework for 3D SLAM in marine environments that combines data obtained concurrently from above and below the water in a robust probabilistic state estimation framework. Our work makes systems, algorithmic, and experimental contributions in perceptual robotics for the marine environment. We have created a novel Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV), equipped with substantial onboard computation and an extensive sensor suite that includes three SICK lidars, a Blueview MB2250 imaging sonar, a Doppler Velocity Log, and an integrated global positioning system/inertial measurement unit (GPS/IMU) device. The data from these sensors is processed in a hybrid metric/topological SLAM state estimation framework. A key challenge to mapping is extracting effective constraints from 3D lidar data despite GPS loss and reacquisition. This was achieved by developing a GPS trust engine that uses a semi-supervised learning classifier to ascertain the validity of GPS information for different segments of the vehicle trajectory. This eliminates the troublesome effects of multipath on the vehicle trajectory estimate, and provides cues for submap decomposition. Localization from lidar point clouds is performed using octrees combined with Iterative Closest Point (ICP) matching, which provides constraints between submaps both within and across different mapping sessions. Submap positions are optimized via least squares optimization of the graph of constraints, to achieve global alignment. The global vehicle trajectory is used for subsea sonar bathymetric map generation and for mesh reconstruction from lidar data for 3D visualization of above-water structures. We present experimental results in the vicinity of several structures spanning or along the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge, MA. The Harvard and Longfellow Bridges, three sailing pavilions and a yacht club provide structures of interest, having both extensive superstructure and subsurface foundations. To quantitatively assess the mapping error, we compare against a georeferenced model of the Harvard Bridge using blueprints from the Library of Congress. Our results demonstrate the potential of this new approach to achieve robust and efficient model capture for complex shallow-water marine environments. Future work aims to incorporate autonomy for path planning of a region of interest while performing collision avoidance to enable fully autonomous surveys that achieve full sensor coverage of a complete marine environment.by Jacques Chadwick Leedekerken.Ph.D

Automated 3D model generation for urban environments [online]

Abstract In this thesis, we present a fast approach to automated generation of textured 3D city models with both high details at ground level and complete coverage for birds-eye view. A ground-based facade model is acquired by driving a vehicle equipped with two 2D laser scanners and a digital camera under normal traffic conditions on public roads. One scanner is mounted horizontally and is used to determine the approximate component of relative motion along the movement of the acquisition vehicle via scan matching; the obtained relative motion estimates are concatenated to form an initial path. Assuming that features such as buildings are visible from both ground-based and airborne view, this initial path is globally corrected by Monte-Carlo Localization techniques using an aerial photograph or a Digital Surface Model as a global map. The second scanner is mounted vertically and is used to capture the 3D shape of the building facades. Applying a series of automated processing steps, a texture-mapped 3D facade model is reconstructed from the vertical laser scans and the camera images. In order to obtain an airborne model containing the roof and terrain shape complementary to the facade model, a Digital Surface Model is created from airborne laser scans, then triangulated, and finally texturemapped with aerial imagery. Finally, the facade model and the airborne model are fused to one single model usable for both walk- and fly-thrus. The developed algorithms are evaluated on a large data set acquired in downtown Berkeley, and the results are shown and discussed

Underwater Vehicles

For the latest twenty to thirty years, a significant number of AUVs has been created for the solving of wide spectrum of scientific and applied tasks of ocean development and research. For the short time period the AUVs have shown the efficiency at performance of complex search and inspection works and opened a number of new important applications. Initially the information about AUVs had mainly review-advertising character but now more attention is paid to practical achievements, problems and systems technologies. AUVs are losing their prototype status and have become a fully operational, reliable and effective tool and modern multi-purpose AUVs represent the new class of underwater robotic objects with inherent tasks and practical applications, particular features of technology, systems structure and functional properties

Motion Compensation for Near-Range Synthetic Aperture Radar Applications

The work focuses on the analysis of influences of motion errors on near-range SAR applications and design of specific motion measuring and compensation algorithms. First, a novel metric to determine the optimum antenna beamwidth is proposed. Then, a comprehensive investigation of influences of motion errors on the SAR image is provided. On this ground, new algorithms for motion measuring and compensation using low cost inertial measurement units (IMU) are developed and successfully demonstrated

Flight Mechanics/Estimation Theory Symposium, 1994

This conference publication includes 41 papers and abstracts presented at the Flight Mechanics/Estimation Theory Symposium on May 17-19, 1994. Sponsored by the Flight Dynamics Division of Goddard Space Flight Center, this symposium featured technical papers on a wide range of issues related to orbit-attitude prediction, determination and control; attitude sensor calibration; attitude determination error analysis; attitude dynamics; and orbit decay and maneuver strategy. Government, industry, and the academic community participated in the preparation and presentation of these papers

Application of advanced technology to space automation

Automated operations in space provide the key to optimized mission design and data acquisition at minimum cost for the future. The results of this study strongly accentuate this statement and should provide further incentive for immediate development of specific automtion technology as defined herein. Essential automation technology requirements were identified for future programs. The study was undertaken to address the future role of automation in the space program, the potential benefits to be derived, and the technology efforts that should be directed toward obtaining these benefits

UAVs for the Environmental Sciences

This book gives an overview of the usage of UAVs in environmental sciences covering technical basics, data acquisition with different sensors, data processing schemes and illustrating various examples of application