3DSSDF: Underwater 3D Sonar Reconstruction Using Signed Distance Functions

Underwater autonomous robotic operations require online localization and 3D mapping. Because of the absence of absolute positioning underwater, these tasks strongly rely on embedded sensors, including proprioceptive or navigation sensors - which can be fused for an odometry, - and exteroceptive sensors. One of the most popular exteroceptive sensors for underwater is the imaging sonar, which emits a large fan-shaped acoustic signal and estimates the position of the surrounding obstacles from a measure of the reflected signal. This paper addresses underwater online localization and 3D mapping using a forward looking, wide-aperture imaging sonar and vehicle's intrinsic navigation estimates. We introduce 3DSSDF (3D Sonar Reconstruction Using Signed Distance Functions), a new localization and 3D mapping algorithm based on signed distance functions, which is evaluated in simulation and on real data, in man-made and natural environments. Comparisons to reference trajectories and maps demonstrate that, in our tests, 3DSSDF efficiently corrects navigation drift and that trajectory and map accuracy is always below 1 m and below 1% of the distanced travelled, which can be sufficient for the safe inspection of natural or artificial underwater structures.