Zhang Yue, Wang Xinwei, Lei Pingshun, Wang Shaomeng, Yang Yuqing, Sun Liang, Zhou Yan
Opt Lett. 2022 Jun 1;47(11):2919-2922. doi: 10.1364/OL.456544.
A smart vector-inspired optical vision guiding (VIOVG) method for autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) docking and formation is proposed. Unlike traditional optical guiding methods based on LED arrays, the method is inspired by a vector, and uses four laser diodes to form a wing-light pattern to realize smart optical guiding for AUVs. Due to the light scattering effect from water, the four laser diodes can emit four bright and slim laser beams in water, which can be captured by underwater cameras. The intersections of the laser beams form wing-lights as markers for AUV distance and pose estimation. The wing-light pattern is easily tuned and extended by changing the propagation direction and the power of the laser beams beyond the limitation of the physical size of the AUV or docking station. The simulations and experiments show that the proposed method can achieve high precision positioning. A relative distance error of 3.35% is achieved in a positioning experiment at ∼10 m. It has great potential for AUV docking and formation, especially for small AUVs.
提出了一种用于自主水下航行器（AUV）对接与编队的智能矢量启发式光学视觉引导（VIOVG）方法。与基于发光二极管阵列的传统光学引导方法不同，该方法受矢量启发，使用四个激光二极管形成翼状光图案，以实现对AUV的智能光学引导。由于水的光散射效应，四个激光二极管可在水中发射出四条明亮且细长的激光束，这些激光束可被水下摄像机捕捉到。激光束的交点形成翼状光，作为AUV距离和姿态估计的标记。通过改变激光束的传播方向和功率，翼状光图案可轻松调整和扩展，突破了AUV或对接站物理尺寸的限制。仿真和实验表明，所提方法能够实现高精度定位。在约10米的定位实验中，相对距离误差达到3.35%。该方法在AUV对接与编队方面具有巨大潜力，尤其适用于小型AUV。
