Geometry-aided Underwater 3D Mapping Using Side-scan Sonar

In recent years, the interest in underwater exploration with Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) equipped with side-scan sonars (SSS) has grown considerably. However, state-of-the-art SSS Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) systems encounter challenges in data association across large viewpoint changes. Additionally, these systems assume that the seabed is a flat surface, leading to significant mapping error in uneven underwater terrains. To address these challenges, we propose a framework that leverages the side-scan sonar geometry to facilitate data association and improve mapping accuracy. The framework begins with a preprocessing module that extracts feature points and provides initial estimates of the elevation angles of the landmarks. Then, a non-consecutive data association module applies epipolar line search to establish correspondences between the current and historical frames. Finally, the mapping module uses side-scan sonar bundle adjustment to recover the positions of the landmarks. The proposed method is evaluated using an underwater terraced fields dataset. Our method achieves over 90% matching rate and reduces the average mapping error from 3.799 to 0.134.