Underwater imaging system with multiple connected autonomous underwater vehicles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11280905-B2
Application number	US-202016859306-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 27, 2020
Priority date	May 3, 2019
Publication date	Mar 22, 2022
Grant date	Mar 22, 2022

Abstract

A method of stereoscopic mapping an underwater location includes determining a relative position and relative distance between two separate sensors on separate underwater platforms. Each of the two separate sensors scans a same underwater feature from its respective determined relative position. A stereoscopic image of the underwater feature is created from the two scanned images.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of stereoscopic mapping an underwater location, comprising:
determining a relative position and relative distance between two separate sensors on two separate underwater platforms;
scanning with the two separate sensors a same underwater feature from the two determined relative positions; and
creating a stereoscopic image of the underwater feature from the two scanned images.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein scanning with sensors comprises scanning with sonar to generate sonar images.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein processing sonar images is accomplished using a graphics processor on one of the two underwater platforms.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein graphics processing on one of the at least two underwater platforms is performed at a first resolution.

5. The method of claim 4 , and further comprising additional graphics processing, wherein additional graphics processing is at a second resolution higher than the first resolution.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein processing sonar images is accomplished using a graphics processor on an external platform to the two underwater platforms.

7. A method of mapping an underwater environment, comprising:
establishing communication between at least two underwater platforms, each underwater platform having a sonar system;
determining a distance between the at least two underwater platforms;
propagating sonar waves from the sonar system of each of the at least two underwater platforms to image a feature in the underwater environment; and
processing sonar images from each of the at least two underwater platform sonar systems with a graphics processor to generate a stereoscopic image of the underwater feature.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein processing sonar images is accomplished using a graphics processor on a one of the at least two underwater platforms.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein graphics processing on a one of the at least two underwater platforms is performed at a first resolution.

10. The method of claim 9 , and further comprising additional graphics processing, wherein additional graphics processing is at a second resolution higher than the first resolution.

11. The method of claim 9 , and further comprising improving resolution using averaging and convergent mathematical solutions.

12. The method of claim 7 , wherein processing sonar images is accomplished using a graphics processor on an external platform to the at least two underwater platforms.

13. The method of claim 7 , wherein images are taken at different frequencies.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein images are taken at frequencies ranging from about 2 kilohertz to about 15 kilohertz.

15. The method of claim 7 , wherein images are stitched together using identifiable overlapping features of the underwater feature.

16. An underwater platform, comprising:
a platform body with a propulsion system, a communication system, an internal navigation system, and a computer control for directing platform operation; and
a sonar system;
wherein the computer control is configured to:
establish communication between the platform and another separate underwater platform;
determine a distance between the two underwater platforms;
propagate sonar waves from the sonar system to image a feature in the underwater environment; and
direct processing of sonar images from each of the at least two underwater platforms with a graphics processor to generate a stereoscopic image of the underwater feature.

17. The platform of claim 16 , wherein the computer control is further configured to process sonar images using a graphics processor on a one of the at least two underwater platforms.

18. The platform of claim 17 , wherein the computer control is further configured to process graphics on a one of the at least two underwater platforms at a first resolution.

19. The platform of claim 18 , the computer control is further configured to control stitching together of multiple sonar images using identifiable overlapping features of the underwater feature.

20. The platform of claim 16 , wherein the platform is an autonomous underwater vehicle.

Assignees

• Seagate Technology Llc

Inventors

• Donly Charles
• Trantham Jon

Classifications

• H04N13/106

  Processing image signals (for multi-view video sequence encoding H04N19/597) · CPC title

• G01S7/54

  with receivers spaced apart · CPC title

• G01S15/89 Primary

  for mapping or imaging · CPC title

• H04N13/239

  using two two-dimensional [2D] image sensors having a relative position equal to or related to the interocular distance (H04N13/243 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B63G2008/004

  autonomously operating · CPC title