Underwater 3D reconstruction using BlueView imaging sonar

This paper addresses the problem of 3D scene reconstruction from 2D imaging sonars. Reconstruction using imaging sonar being a non-trivial problem, we present an algorithm enabling the generation of a 3D map of the observed scene from a sequence of imaging sonar images. The inherent problem when using large aperture sonars being the unavailability of the elevation angle information, our algorithm solves this by associating multiple point of views and taking advantage of the sonar imaging process. Using this technique, we enable the surface reconstruction of an inspected structure using standard sonars, frequently embedded on many ROVs and AUVs on the market. In addition to performing tests in a simulated environment, tests made with real inspection data showed that accurate 3D mapping was possible using noisy standard sonar and AUV navigation. Results can be obtained in real operation time, paving the way for further 3D online applications.