AUV Environmental Monitoring

Work performed at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics

Robust, scalable Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) algorithms support the successful deployment of robots in real-world applications. In many cases these platforms deliver vast amounts of sensor data from large scale, unstructured environments. This data may be difficult to interpret by end-users without further processing and suitable visualization tools. We present the results from robust, automated system for large-scale 3D reconstruction and visualization that takes stereo imagery from an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and SLAM-based vehicle poses to deliver detailed 3D models of the seafloor in the form of textured polygonal meshes.

Prior to our research on large-scale underwater optical 3D mapping, most marine survey work relied on acoustic methods for mapping the benthos. This would often be combined with imagery collected by drop cameras or towed video but the registration between the underlying bathymetric models and the collected imagery was generally quite coarse. The acoustic models were also limited to resolutions on the order of 50cm^2. This project developed Autonomous Underwater Vehicle technologies that allowed for the novel production of large-scale high-resolution 3D benthic maps of the coral reefs. The use of vision-based Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) and stereoscopic cameras reduced the cost of the platform over more traditional underwater technology. Based on this pioneering research our team has been performing regular coral reef monitoring, over the last 5 years, using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. This work has led to our inclusion in Australia's Integrated Marine Observing System: a national program to perform ocean monitoring. The massive scale of our data has led to the application of non-parametric clustering and the automated classification of habitat type. These results have provided insight into the study of the habitats of sea urchins in Tasmania, brittle stars on the Great Barrier Reef, sponge gardens on the Ningaloo reef, relic reefs, bacterial mats and other sites.

Associated Publications: