The Study On Imaging Visual And Information Processing Techniques Of Acoustic Vision System For AUV

With the growth of the requirements for developing and exploration of the resource in the ocean, the underwater object detector and the relative techniques used in civil and military field have been developed rapidly in 80s, especially the techniques have been given more attention. Because the physical limits of the optical devices, the sonar system play the unreplaceable role in the field of searching and recognizing the underwater object.In the paper, the work is for one of the great scientific projects in China?the techniques on processing and comprehending the acoustical vision information for the Intelligent Autonomous Underwater Vehicle'. In this task, the acoustical vision system is divided into two subsystems: the guiding subsystem and the recognition subsystem. The former mainly searches the probable targets in middle and long distance. It gives, usually distance and bearing messages to the network. When the AUV is navigated to approach to the target in a certain distance, the action of classification should be done and the classification results will also be reported; The later has t he function of recognition, namely when the target is in the recognition zone, this subsystem starts up and recognizes precisely what object appear in this area. Comparing with the conventional sonar systems, the acoustical vision system of the intelligent underwater robot must possess not only the ability for acquiring information, but also the intelligent ability for automatic analysis and identification of the information, namely it possess the intelligence.The contents of this paper include design of high frequency imaging system,processing and visual display technology of sonar image, etc. So far in the area of image processing, the research of sonar image is much less than that of optic image. Although the sonar image has the strongpoint of long detection range and the ability of giving out the distance information directly, but the quality of sonar image is much worse than that of optic image. So the processing and recognition of sonar images are much more difficult than that of optic image.Based on research of multi-beaming technologies and SeaBalt 6012 system ,high frequency imaging system is produced . At the same time not onlythe classical optical image processing algorithms have been used, but also the specific methods for the acoustical image have been developed. Through some algorithms, sonar image can be proceed and operated visually.