Preliminary Result on Object Shape Reconstruction using an Underwater Forward-Looking Sonar

This paper proposes a practical object shape reconstruction method using an underwater forward-looking sonar. In order to achieve the object shape reconstruction, three practical methods are adopted. The forward-looking sonar has a vertical field of view, which affect the re-projection; thus, the vertical field of view is modified to a narrow angle to reduce the uncertainty in elevation angle. Simple noise filtering and range detection methods are designed and implemented clearly and concisely. A low pass filter is also adopted to estimate the probability of voxel occupancy. In order to evaluate the proposed method, object shape reconstruction was performed using the basin test, and the results of the experiment are reported.