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Introduction
1.1 Introduction
controlling of vessel traffic in all major ports along the sea coast has become a crucial factor
The crucial equipment that provides navigational and surveillance capability to the
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) is the sonar. SONAR (Sound Navigation and
Ranging) is a sensor that uses sound propagation, mounted onto the AUV to navigate,
communicate and detect underwater mines. Sonar is the underwater equivalent of Radar and
its functions are many and varied. These include detection, identification, location and speed
indication of the 'targets of interest'. Radar operates on the principle of transmitting and/or
meters/sec) through space or the atmosphere. Sonar, on the other hand, relies on acoustic
energy in seawater which travels at 1,500 meter/sec, depending upon conditions such as
temperature, depth, and salinity. There are basically two modes of operation of sonar:
'Passive' and 'Active'. A passive sonar system emits no signals. Active sonar employs a
transmitter to send out sound pulses and a receiver to record returning echoes. In
conventional active sonars, when the separation of the targets is less than the range
resolution, then it displays a single large combined target rather than multiple smaller targets.
Compressed High Intensity Radar Pulse (CHIRP) sonars are invented to overcome the
limitations (i.e., the low coverage area and low range resolution) of conventional monotonic
sonars. In this thesis, the images from the chirp sonar fitted on AUV are used for underwater
objects is very important to avoid collision of AUV with vessels or underwater objects. With
the advancement of technology, there are Imaging sonars which scan areas upto a range of
100 to 300 meters in front of the AUV and provide images as output. But the information that
is available from these imaging sonars is limited to range and bearing only. Therefore, there
is a clear need for extraction of features (range, bearing, size, shape and speed) of all
underwater objects (that are coming in the way of an AUV) by making use of the information
In addition, the sonar information collected while searching for, or identifying, underwater
mines is often presented to the operator in the form of a two dimensional image. This 2D
information provides only range and bearing but not depth of the target. These 2D sonars
cannot distinguish between the safe sea floor and the dangerous under water obstacles
through depth measurement. They must rely on visual cues to guess whether or not the
obstacles are located in the water column or on the sea floor. In order to overcome the
problem, a new surface construction algorithm is developed, in which the complete 3D model
of the object of interest can be extracted from the 2D images obtained from the sonar.
Object identification in the 2D images obtained from sonar is very important for extracting
the 3D features. These sonar images contain noise which is undesired information that
contaminates an image. In order to identify the objects present in the images received from
the imaging sonar fitted onboard an AUV, a process called segmentation is employed. The
Thresholding, Fuzzy C means Thresholding and Adaptive Histogram Equalization. Even after
segmentation of the real-time sonar images, images contain noise. So to further remove the
noise from the sonar images and to identify the objects clearly, a new Image synthesis
order to create a single composite image. The resultant comprehensive image retains all the
important features of the individual images. In order to get the complete 3D information of
the object i.e., to know the depth information, the 2D images of the object are taken at
different elevation angles of the sonar and are used to reconstruct the 3D shape of the object.
From the available data, in order to reconstruct the 3D object a new surface construction
algorithm is developed. The algorithm consists of (i) acquiring data points on the surface of
the solid using sonar, (ii) reconstructing the surface from these points. The developed
algorithms are validated with the real time data corresponding to the underwater images of a
sector scan sonar fitted onboard an AUV. These underwater images are collected for several
days at three different places (Tow tank (NSTL, DRDO), Visakhapatnam Steel Plant
The main objective of the thesis is to develop a new underwater object detection algorithm
extract the object depth information from the images obtained from the chirp technology
noise.
resolution with which separation of two objects can be identified clearly in the image
4. Development of a new Image Synthesis algorithm to identify the objects in the noisy
underwater sector scan sonar images and comparison of its performance with existing
segmentation methods.
underwater object from the 2D images obtained from the sector scan sonar.
useful for underwater object detection on the sea-bed in the coastal regions where
physical, chemical and biological activities with immediate impact on humans take
place.
ii) The proposed image synthesis algorithm is useful for surveillance of ports, coastal
regions and also for underwater object classification such as identification of mines,
particular area or location in the sea for the oil and gas industry to make detailed maps
The first task towards achieving the objectives of the thesis is the analysis of
characteristics of sonar and propagation of sound underwater (Qihu Li., 2012). This
resolution. The chirp technology is analyzed in comparison with the monotonic sonar.
The basic step to be undertaken in any image processing technique is noise filtering. For
this purpose, the characteristics of the noise present in the sea water and in the sonar
images are comprehensively understood (Urick R. J., 1983). The noise present in the sea
can be categorized in two ways: ambient noise and site specific noise. Ambient noise is
the open sea noise and includes turbulence (1-10Hz), shipping (10-100Hz), surface
(100Hz-100kHz) and thermal (above 100kHz) components. Whereas site specific noise
includes manmade, biological, ice cracking, rain and seismic event components (Fig. 1.1).
Majority of the ambient noise sources exhibit continuous power spectral density and
N(f) = K fb
(1.1)
where, f is the frequency, b is the noise power spectral density and K is the
spreading factor.
A comprehensive study is carried out on linear and non linear spatial filtering techniques
such as mean filter, Gaussian filter, median filter and frequency filters such as lowpass,
highpass and bandpass filters (Gonzalez R. C., 2005). These filters are implemented on
simulated and real time sonar images. Noise removal is the first step in any image
segmentation technique. Various spatial and frequency domain filtering techniques were
studied for various types of noise removal (Quidu I. et al, 2000; Yu S.C. et al, 2008). The
goal of segmentation is to take an input image and clearly define the objects in it. Image
segmentation is normally the next step in image analysis after noise removal (Zerr, 2005).
Segmentation can also be regarded as a process of grouping together pixels that have
similar attributes (Mignotte, 1998). All subsequent tasks such as feature extraction, object
recognition and 3D surface construction rely heavily on the quality of the segmentation
process (Bell, 2002). Several popular methods like adaptive thresholding, K-means
clustering, region growing and edge detection methods are studied and some of them are
implemented on sonar images but they failed to identify the objects from the foreground
noise (Martinez G., 2005). Since there is no general solution to the image segmentation
problem, these techniques often have to be combined with domain knolwdge in order to
effectively solve segmentation problem for a specific application (Fox et al, 2004; Reed et
al, 2003). Therefore a new method which takes into account the advantages of the
existing segmentation methods is proposed for sonar object detection. In this process all
these segmented images are combined into a single image, which retains the important
features of the individual images (H B Mitchell., 2010). The developed image synthesis
2002; Yi Zhou., 2010). The proposed image synthesis algorithm is succeeded in detecting
The objects detected from the sonar images are two dimensional (2D). So for better
understanding of the features of the underwater object, its three dimensional features are
required (Satyan L. Devadoss et al., 2011). In order to construct the 3D model from the
2D data available from the sonar images a new surface construction algorithm is
developed. The developed 3D surface construction algorithm is compared with the ball
The first step in achieving the research goal is the acquisition and processing of images
generated by the Imaging sonar. The detailed block diagram of the sonar object detection
and its 3D surface construction is shown in Fig. 1.2. The images that are received from
the imaging sonar fitted on the AUV provide only the range and bearing of the objects.
These objects are required to be detected in the image frames received from the sonar.
This involves the processing of the images in such a way that the detection of real objects
is not missed out and no false alarm is detected. The sonar images are required to be pre-
processed and image synthesis algorithm is to be developed which combines the features
sonar images and it is observed that, with a single method alone, it is not possible to
segment the sonar images properly. Therefore further research was undertaken and a new
image synthesis algorithm that suits the underwater real sonar images over the south east
Once the image is segmented and the objects are detected, their features are extracted.
The main aim of feature extraction is to extract the size and shape of the objects. The
object detected from the sonar is a 2D which provides only range and bearing of the
object. So there is need for the extraction of the 3D shape from the 2D images obtained.
In this thesis, first the different slices of the same object at different elevations are
obtained and the object is formed. Initially a 3D model is developed based on the slice
centroid. In this method centroids of each slice are calculated and all the points available
from the 2D images are joined based on spherical co-ordinates. The surface is
constructed using the method ball pivoting. Though it constructs the surface but it has
high resolution.
Clear
Video Identification
Images Removal of
of the object
Data noise and
Conversion of using
Acquisition object
raw video into developed
from the sonar detection using
images image
fitted on AUV segmentation synthesis
methods algorithm
Constructi
Fig. 1.2 Block diagram of object detection and 3D surface construction algorithm
Sonar is a sensor that uses sound propagation, which mounted onto the AUVs to navigate,
sonars), when the separation of the targets is less than the range resolution, then it
displays a single large combined target rather than multiple smaller targets. The
conventional active sonars cannot be used in detecting the underwater objects due to its
low range resolution.. The range resolution of conventional active sonar is given by the
following equation.
The minimum range resolution that can be obtained for monotonic sonar is 37.5 mm.
From the above equation, the ability of monotonic acoustic systems to resolve targets is
better, if the pulse duration is short. Ideally, long transmit pulses are needed to get
enough acoustic energy into the water for good identification of the furthermost targets,
but due to the velocity of sound (VOS) through water (1500 metres / second), each pulse
will occupy an equivalent 'distance' related to its pulse duration. The range resolution can
be improved in chirp technology sonar and is given by
velocity of sound
Range resolution =
(bandwidth 2)
(1.3)
The bandwidth of a typical chirp system is 100 kHz, and using the typical VOS of 1500
meters/second, the range resolution obtained is 7.5 mm which is better than conventional
sonar. The monotonic sonar cannot distinguish two objects if the distance between them
is less than 37.5 mm but using chirp technology sonar the objects can be distinguish if
In this thesis, the images from the chirp sonar are used for underwater object detection
and tracking analysis. The images obtained are processed to remove the overall noise
present in the images. The next step in the research work is object detection. Several
segmentation methods are analyzed and implemented for object detection purpose. Since
method all the features of the existing segmentation methods are combined. The best
pixels from all the segmentation methods are selected and combined into a single image.
The criteria used for selection of the best pixels are the eigen values. In order to assess
the best pixels, given image is partitioned into a lattice of blocks of size b b. For each
x y
block B, let gs= ( g s , g s ) denote the gradient of the gray level intensity. The covariance
matrix J of the gradient vectors for all b2 sites in this block is given by
1 j11 j12
J g sT g s
b2 s B j 21 j 22
(1.4)
From the above matrix the Eigen values (λ1, λ2) are calculated using the following
equations
1
1 trace( J ) trace J 4 det J (1.5)
2
1
2 trace( J ) trace J 4 det J
2
(1.6)
Where trace (J) =j11+j22, det (J) = j11 j22 -j212 and λ1≥ λ2. The best quality pixels are
determined by using 1 2 . If λij is the quality assessment value of a block Iij, the
where the subscripts are the ranks of the image blocks. Based on these ranks the better
quality blocks of pixels are formed into a new image. The block diagram of the
Once the objects are detected from the noise free images, the next objective is to
construct the 3D surface of the object. Sonar information collected while searching for, or
identifying, underwater mines is often presented to the operator in the form of a two
dimensional image. This 2D information provides only range and bearing of the target
only. As the depth information is not available, this 2D information cannot distinguish
between the safe sea floor and the dangerous underwater obstacle through depth
measurement.
Edge detection
Chirp
Technology Canny Edge detection
based Sonar Image Noise
Data(Under
Filtering Synthesis Free
water objects Adaptive thresholding
Algorithm Under
images)
water
Image
Fuzzy C Means thresholding
Fig. 1.3 Block diagram of image synthesis algorithm
complete 3D model of the object of interest can be extracted from the 2D images
obtained from the sonar. In order to get the complete 3D information of the object i.e., to
know the depth information, the 2D images of the object are taken at different elevation
angles of the sonar and are used to construct the 3D shape of the object. Firstly a 3D
model is developed based on the slice centroid based method. In this method, centroids of
each slice are calculated and all the points available from the 2D images are joined based
on spherical co-ordinates. Using this method the shape is obtained but failed to construct
the complete surface of the object. So in order to construct the surface ball pivoting is
implemented. Even though the slice centroid in combination with ball pivoting
constructs the surface of an object but it has poor resolution. So a new algorithm based on
triangulation and quick hull algorithm is developed in this thesis for surface
(i) A triangle of a planar point set should be formed with minimal internal angle
Let us consider a triangle pqr with sides a, b, c with internal angle, γ. The internal angle
can be calculated as
a2 b2 c2
cos
2ab
(1.7)
c(a 2 b2 c2 )
R cos
8A
(1.8)
abc
Where, R , and A is the area of triangle and A can be expressed by the three
4A
point determinant as
1 (1.9)
A
2 | D ( p; q; r ) |
Where,
xp yp 1
D( p; q; r ) xq yq 1 x p yq xr y p xq y r x p yr xq y p xr y q
xr yr 1
Now the third point is determined in such a way that it should minimize the Rcosγ. Let r
be a first third point detected r S be the first point for which D (p; q; r) ≠ 0 and define
a 2 b2 c 2 (1.10)
K ( p; q; r )
D( p; q; r )
If D (p; q; r) > 0, identify the third point which minimizes K (p; q; r). Thus a new triangle
(ii) This Triangle must satisfy empty sphere condition, that is, no point should lie inside
The point t lies inside the ∆PQR if the following determinant is negative. The point lies
on the circum circle of the ∆PQR if the determinant is zero. The point lies outside the
px p y px2 p y2 1
qx q y qx2 q y2 1
incircle( p; q; r ; t ) 0 (1.11)
rx ry rx2 ry2 1
t x t y t x2 t y2 1
This triangulation method in combination with quick hull algorithm is developed in this
thesis. The developed algorithm consists of two steps: (i) acquisition of data points on the
surface of the solid using sonar (ii) reconstruction of the surface from these points. The
1. Separate the z coordinates from all the sampled points so as to project them on to the
x-y plane.
2. Now raise all the 2D points to 3D points by taking the z coordinates of the new points
as x2+y2 .
3. Construct the convex hull for all these points using Quickhull algorithm.
4. Once the convex hull is obtained the points are brought down to 2D by removing the
added new z coordinate. By doing this, the triangulation of all the points can be
obtained.
5. Now the original z-coordinates are added to the points and obtained triangulation is
The thesis is organized into seven chapters including the Introduction and the
Conclusions. Chapter 2 describes various underwater navigational aids, how the sound
waves propagate and the underwater noise effects on the sound signals. It also provides
technology sonar in comparison with monotonic sonar. This chapter also presents the
separation of two objects can be identified clearly in the image obtained from the sector
scan sonar. The performance analysis of various image segmentation methods that are
used for underwater object detection is presented in Chapter 4. The proposed underwater
object detection algorithm and its performance analysis are presented in Chapter 5.
Chapter 6 presents the results of two 3D models that are implemented based on the slice
centroid and 3D surface construction algorithm. This chapter also includes the
objects. The overall conclusions of the thesis along with the future scope of the work are
presented in Chapter 7.