A rasterized ray-tracer pipeline for real-time, multi-device sonar simulation

Cerqueira, Romulo; Trocoli, Tiago; Albiez, Jan; Oliveira, Luciano

doi:10.1016/j.gmod.2020.101086

Cited by 17 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…New high-fidelity models for real-time simulation of mechanical scanning imaging sonar and forward-looking sonar have been proposed in [150]. The same authors have improved the simulation speed in the presence of multiple sonar devices thanks to the combination of rasterization and raytracing [151]. Stonefish showed two uses.…”

Section: Othersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Underwater Simulators Analysis for Digital Twinning

Ciuccoli,

Screpanti,

Scaradozzi

2024

IEEE Access

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The underwater environment is among Earth's most challenging domains, where failures incur elevated risks and costs for both technology and human endeavors. As a consequence, forecasting the behavior of mechatronic systems through simulation has become increasingly important. Underwater Robotic Simulators (URSs) allow researchers and engineers to safely develop and assess submarine systems. The selection of an appropriate URS from the list of available tools is not trivial. Moreover, the integration of this software with the Digital Twin (DT) concept presents numerous advantages, particularly the ability to link the simulated environment with actual underwater vehicles. This connection is facilitated by performing validation and simulation tests using Software In the Loop (SIL), Model In the Loop, and Hardware In the Loop (HIL) techniques. This paper extensively reviews URSs in the context of both robots and unmanned vehicles in light of the DT paradigm. The article critically examines distinctions among existing URSs, offering valuable insights to aid researchers in selecting the most fitting tool for their specific applications. Additionally, the review explores the practical applications of the identified simulators, categorizing their usage across different fields to illuminate the preferences within the scientific community and showcase prominent case studies.

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Section: Othersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Underwater Simulators Analysis for Digital Twinning

Ciuccoli,

Screpanti,

Scaradozzi

2024

IEEE Access

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“…Gwon et al [13] developed the missing SSS module in UWSim, using a simplified Lambertian diffusion model with rayleigh noise and speckle noise, but did not consider the influence of sound velocity on propagation paths. Cerqueira et al [14,15] combined rasterization and ray tracing to optimize simulated sonar reflection, reducing the ray tracing area required through rasterization. They also used BVH and AABB algorithms to accelerate rendering [16], and employed osgOcean for the construction of underwater scenes, thereby achieving a real-time application of the simulator.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced Multi-Beam Echo Sounder Simulation through Distance-Aided and Height-Aided Sound Ray Marching Algorithms

Cheng,

Ge,

Bai

2024

JMSE

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The study proposes two innovative algorithms in the field of multi-beam echo sounder (MBES) simulation: distance-aided sound ray marching (DASRM) and height-aided sound ray marching (HASRM). These algorithms aim to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of MBES simulations, particularly when dealing with long-distance propagation and real-time processing limitations. DASRM addresses issues related to simulation accuracy by efficiently utilizing the KD-tree for spatial indexing and intersection detection instead of the signed distance field (SDF). Building upon the further analysis of DASRM, HASRM is proposed, which improves the search strategy for ray intersections and utilizes a height field pyramid for sampling and retrieval, thereby reducing memory usage while enhancing indexing efficiency. The experimental results demonstrate that both algorithms significantly outperform traditional methods in terms of simulation time, with HASRM exhibiting particular advantages in parallel computing due to its data structure and improved strategies. Additionally, DASRM is well suited for applications requiring complex scene construction, while HASRM proves especially effective in simulating MBES with a focus on underwater terrain due to its effectiveness in handling large incident angles and long-distance propagation.

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“…The latter two aspects are standard acoustic pulse echo imaging characteristics that are discussed later. In Cerqueira et al (2017Cerqueira et al ( , 2020, a GPU-based sonar simulator is developed using rasterization. They model two types of sonar: a mechanically scanned imaging sonar (MSIS) and a forward-looking sonar (FLS).…”

Section: Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous methods in the literature are based on image processing and video rendering of the simulated rays intersecting a target to convert into a sonar image pixel-wise and image-based manner ( DeMarco et al, 2015 ; Cerqueira et al, 2017 ; Cerqueira et al, 2020 ). Overall, a grid is formed for the acoustic image data, and any rays that intersect a given pixel are added to it incoherently.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physics-Based Modelling and Simulation of Multibeam Echosounder Perception for Autonomous Underwater Manipulation

et al. 2021

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One of the key distinguishing aspects of underwater manipulation tasks is the perception challenges of the ocean environment, including turbidity, backscatter, and lighting effects. Consequently, underwater perception often relies on sonar-based measurements to estimate the vehicle’s state and surroundings, either standalone or in concert with other sensing modalities, to support the perception necessary to plan and control manipulation tasks. Simulation of the multibeam echosounder, while not a substitute for in-water testing, is a critical capability for developing manipulation strategies in the complex and variable ocean environment. Although several approaches exist in the literature to simulate synthetic sonar images, the methods in the robotics community typically use image processing and video rendering software to comply with real-time execution requirements. In addition to a lack of physics-based interaction model between sound and the scene of interest, several basic properties are absent in these rendered sonar images–notably the coherent imaging system and coherent speckle that cause distortion of the object geometry in the sonar image. To address this deficiency, we present a physics-based multibeam echosounder simulation method to capture these fundamental aspects of sonar perception. A point-based scattering model is implemented to calculate the acoustic interaction between the target and the environment. This is a simplified representation of target scattering but can produce realistic coherent image speckle and the correct point spread function. The results demonstrate that this multibeam echosounder simulator generates qualitatively realistic images with high efficiency to provide the sonar image and the physical time series signal data. This synthetic sonar data is a key enabler for developing, testing, and evaluating autonomous underwater manipulation strategies that use sonar as a component of perception.

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A rasterized ray-tracer pipeline for real-time, multi-device sonar simulation

Cited by 17 publications

References 20 publications

Underwater Simulators Analysis for Digital Twinning

Underwater Simulators Analysis for Digital Twinning

Enhanced Multi-Beam Echo Sounder Simulation through Distance-Aided and Height-Aided Sound Ray Marching Algorithms

Physics-Based Modelling and Simulation of Multibeam Echosounder Perception for Autonomous Underwater Manipulation

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