Targets In Sonar Images Research Articles

Attentive SOLO for Sonar Target Segmentation

Imaging sonar systems play an important role in underwater target detection and location. Due to the influence of reverberation noise on imaging sonar systems, the task of sonar target segmentation is a challenging problem. In order to segment different types of targets in sonar images accurately, we proposed the gated fusion-pyramid segmentation attention (GF-PSA) module. Specifically, inspired by gated full fusion, we improved the pyramid segmentation attention (PSA) module by using gated fusion to reduce the noise interference during feature fusion and improve segmentation accuracy. Then, we improved the SOLOv2 (Segmenting Objects by Locations v2) algorithm with the proposed GF-PSA and named the improved algorithm Attentive SOLO. In addition, we constructed a sonar target segmentation dataset, named STSD, which contains 4000 real sonar images, covering eight object categories with a total of 7077 target annotations. The experimental results show that the segmentation accuracy of Attentive SOLO on STSD is as high as 74.1%, which is 3.7% higher than that of SOLOv2.

Sonar Image Target Detection and Recognition Based on Convolution Neural Network

Recent advancements in deep learning offer an effective approach for the study in machine vision using optical images. In this paper, a convolution neural network is used to deal with the target task of sonar detection, and the performance of each neural network model in the sonar image detection and recognition task of underwater box and tire is compared. The simulation results show that the neural network method proposed in this paper is better than the traditional machine learning methods and SSD network models. The average accuracy of the proposed method for sonar image target recognition is 93%, and the detection time of a single image is only 0.3 seconds.

Adaptive Multiview Target Classification in Synthetic Aperture Sonar Images Using a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process

The problem of classifying targets in sonar images from multiple views is modeled as a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP). This model allows one to adaptively determine which additional views of an object would be most beneficial in reducing the classification uncertainty. Acquiring these additional views is made possible by employing an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) equipped with a side-looking imaging sonar. The components of the multiview target classification POMDP are specified. The observation model for a target is specified by the degree of similarity between the image under consideration and a number of precomputed templates. The POMDP is validated using real synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) data gathered during experiments at sea carried out by the NATO Undersea Research Centre, and results show that the accuracy of the proposed method outperforms an approach using a number of predetermined view aspects. The approach provides an elegant way to fully exploit multiview information and AUV maneuverability in a methodical manner.