High Definition, Inexpensive, Underwater Mapping
This work provides a low-cost solution for underwater mapping, which is incremental as it adapts existing SLAM methods to new sensor data.
The paper tackles underwater mapping by developing a visual-inertial SLAM framework using a single inexpensive sensor, the GoPro 9, and demonstrates its robustness in various underwater environments such as artificial wrecks and caves.
In this paper we present a complete framework for Underwater SLAM utilizing a single inexpensive sensor. Over the recent years, imaging technology of action cameras is producing stunning results even under the challenging conditions of the underwater domain. The GoPro 9 camera provides high definition video in synchronization with an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) data stream encoded in a single mp4 file. The visual inertial SLAM framework is augmented to adjust the map after each loop closure. Data collected at an artificial wreck of the coast of South Carolina and in caverns and caves in Florida demonstrate the robustness of the proposed approach in a variety of conditions.