Authors: Marios Xanthidis, Bharat Joshi, Monika Roznere, Weihan Wang, Nathaniel Burgdorfer, Alberto {Quattrini Li}, Philippos Mordohai, Srihari Nelakuditi, Ioannis Rekleitis
Abstract: In this paper, we discuss how to effectively map an novel approach to underwater structure mapping with aby a team of robots given the specific challenges posed by the underwater environment. The overarching goal of this work is to produce high-ly definition, accurate, photorealistic representation of underwater structures. Due to the many limitations of vision underwater, operating at a distance from the structure results in degraded images that lack details, while operating close to the structure increases the accumulated uncertainty due to the limited viewing area which results into drifting. We propose a multi-robot mapping framework tThe proposed approachat utilizes two types of robots: proximal observers which map close to the structure and distal observers which provide localization for proximal observers and bird’s\hyp eye\hyp view situational awareness. The paper presents the fundamental components and related current results from real shipwrecks and simulations, necessary to enable the proposed frameworkapproach, including robust state estimation, real\hyp time 3D mapping, and active perception navigation strategies for the two types of robots. The paper outlines then interesting research directions and plans to have a completely integrated framework that allows robots to map in harsh environments.