Science Daily July 10, 2023
Current methods for underwater geolocalization rely on tethered systems with limited coverage or daytime imagery data in clear waters, leaving much of the underwater environment unexplored. Geolocalization in turbid waters or at night has been considered unfeasible due to absence of identifiable landmarks. Researchers at the University of Illinois, Urbana) have developed a novel method for underwater geolocalization using deep neural networks trained on ∼10 million polarization-sensitive images acquired globally, along with camera position sensor data. They achieved longitudinal accuracy of ∼55 km (∼1000 km) during daytime (nighttime) at depths up to ∼8 m, regardless of water turbidity. In clear waters, the transfer learning longitudinal accuracy was ∼255 km at 50 m depth. According to the researchers their method of leveraging optical data in conjunction with camera position information facilitates underwater geolocalization and offers a valuable tool for untethered underwater navigation… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Geolocalization accuracy during nighttime under different moon phases… Credit: eLight volume 3, Article number: 15 (2023)