Investigation of forward looking SONAR for intelligent underwater robot navigation

• Main Author: Siti Jannatul Arfiyah Binti Moharum
• Other Authors: Cai Yiyu
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
• Subjects: Engineering; Underwater; Robot
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/181672
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Ever since the Japanese began an aggressive research and development in the 1980s, Automated Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) have been gaining its popularity exponentially. However, as technology progresses, so much more can be done to develop the AUVs such that it can be used to execute more intricate tasks, especially to thwart the mortality rate caused during underwater missions. One concern here though, would be to ensure that the cost is low, but it is still maintained to be highly efficient. This project aims to utilise readings collated from an Oculus M1200d Dual-Frequency Multibeam Forward-Looking SONAR (FLS) and characterise it such that it can produce an AUV capable of Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) in real time. It explores various factors such as the walls of the water body environment, the distance of robot from SONAR and quality of readings attained from the SONAR. This project aims to provide a summary and guidelines for the usage of the FLS in future developments of the autonomous underwater robot system.