Computer Vision, Sonar and Sensor fusion for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Navigation

Abstract

Even though a lot of research has been devoted towards AUVs in the West, the developing Eastern nations like India lack programs for development of AUV technologies that would better position them to understand their oceans. As such, the Indian Underwater Robotics Society started development of the first Indian AUV that would be portable and low cost while having widespread applications in academia, science, military, communication systems and public safety industries. The most important aspects of an AUV are its sensors, computer vision and sonar subsystems that assist its navigation. This paper presents some details on the sensor systems that were used in the AUV last year and also some of the developments that are in the pipeline for this year; including details on the patented computer vision system TOUCH and a passive sonar subsystem.