In-situ attitude calibration for high resolution bathymetric surveys with underwater robotic vehicles

In this paper we present a methodology for high resolution acoustic bathymetric mapping from a robotic underwater vehicle. Based on data obtained from navigation, attitude, and bathymetric sensors we show that precise calibration of attitude sensors is critical to obtaining high precision bathymetric surveys. We present an in-situ method for precision attitude sensor calibration based upon specific vehicle maneuvers. This method is demonstrated using data from an acoustic bathymetric survey of an archaeological site in the Mediterranean conducted by the authors with the Jason remotely operated vehicle