Detecting submerged objects: The application of side scan sonar to forensic contexts

Schultz, John J.; Healy, Carrie; Parker, Kenneth; Lowers, Bim

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2013.05.032

Cited by 34 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…John J Schultz 11 conducted two successful searches for submersed bodies and objects using a human-driven pontoon boat equipped with a SSS. The method is more efficient than traditional water search methods such as human diving, remote operated vehicle (ROVs), and water scent dogs.…”

Section: Ladder Survey Employing An Autonomous Underwater Vehiclementioning

confidence: 99%

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Route optimizing and following for autonomous underwater vehicle ladder surveys

Jiang

et al. 2018

International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems

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An autonomous underwater vehicle is able to conduct coverage detections, such as sea terrain mapping and submerged objects detection, using sonar. This work addresses the task of both optimizing and following routes that present a ladder shape. First, a planning method to determine a nearly optimal coverage route is designed. The track spacing is optimized considering the seabed type and the sonar range for the purpose of increasing detection probability. It also adds adaptability to confined water, such as harbors, by decomposing the geometrically concave mission region during the processing of the environmental data. Next, a decoupled and two-layered structure is adopted to design the following controller. The route is followed in the form of sequenced-lines tracking. A proportion-integral-derivative algorithm with fuzzy parameters adjustment is employed to calculate a reference heading angle according to the transverse position deviation in designing the guidance controller. An adaptive nonlinear S-surface law is adopted to design the yaw control. The route following the method is demonstrated with sonar (including side scanning sonar and multi-beam echo sounder) imagery collected in terrain mapping and object detection through sea trials.

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Section: Ladder Survey Employing An Autonomous Underwater Vehiclementioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the implementation of the AUV's control system, the PID algorithm should be expressed in numerical differential form as shown in equation (11).…”

Section: Calculation Of Transverse Deviationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Route optimizing and following for autonomous underwater vehicle ladder surveys

Jiang

et al. 2018

International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems

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“…According to the World Health Organization, drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional death worldwide, accounting for more than 370,000 deaths annually. Submerged human bodies, especially those associated with homicide, have generated the most publications on detection methods (see, for example, Dix, 1987;Haglund, 1993;Haglund & Sorg, 2002;Schultz et al, 2013), which we also concentrate on for review purposes. Animals may also be placed in water (see, for example, Ruffell & McKinley, (2008) who report on the dumping of a diseased sheep in a ditch).…”

Section: The Nature Of the Targetmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The forensic search for objects submerged in water has not followed the well-developed methodology established for terrestrial searches (Donnelly & Harrison, 2013), with specific methods (for example, searching using divers) or specific devices (e.g. side-scan sonar, as presented in Schultz et al, 2013;Healy et al, 2015) being described. Our objective in this work is to develop an overall strategy, based on geoscientific methods, for the search of water for items of forensic interest.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of geoscience methods for aquatic forensic searches

Ruffell

Pringle

Cassella

et al. 2017

Earth-Science Reviews

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There have been few publications on the forensic search of water and fewer still on the use of geoforensic techniques when exploring aqueous environments. Here we consider what the nature of the aqueous environment is, what the forensic target(s) may be, update the geoforensic search assets we may use in light of these, and provide a search strategy that includes multiple exploration assets. Some of the good practice involved in terrestrial searches has not been applied to water to-date, water being seen as homogenous and without the complexity of solid ground: this is incorrect and a full desktop study prior to searching, with prioritized areas, is recommended. Much experimental work on the decay of human remains is focused on terrestrial surface deposition or burial, with less known about the nature of this target in water, something which is expanded upon here, in order to deploy the most appropriate geoforensic method in water-based detection. We include case studies where detecting other forensic targets have been searched for; from metal (guns, knives) to those of a nonmetallic nature, such as submerged barrels/packages of explosives, drugs, contraband and items that cause environmental pollution. A combination of the consideration of the environment, the target(s), and both modern and traditional search devices, leads to a preliminary aqueous search strategy for forensic targets. With further experimental research and criminal/humanitarian casework, this strategy will continue to evolve and improve our detection of forensic targets.

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“…A side-scan sonar (SSS) can efficiently investigate large-area seabeds [1], and the images it captures are often used to reflect seabed geomorphology and sediment characteristics [2]; therefore, SSS is widely used in sediment classification [3][4][5], target recognition [6], and so on. SSS has long been used for seabed imaging in relatively deep water areas (e.g., large lakes and oceans), but it is currently undergoing a resurgence as systems become increasingly cheap, portable, and useful in shallow water environments, such as rivers [7,8] and coastal areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A New Radiometric Correction Method for Side-Scan Sonar Images in Consideration of Seabed Sediment Variation

et al. 2017

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Abstract:Affected by the residual of time varying gain, beam patterns, angular responses, and sonar altitude variations, radiometric distortion degrades the quality of side-scan sonar images and seriously affects the application of these images. However, existing methods cannot correct distortion effectively, especially in the presence of seabed sediment variation. This study proposes a new radiometric correction method for side-scan sonar images that considers seabed sediment variation. First, the different effects on backscatter strength (BS) are analyzed, and along-track distortion is removed by establishing a linear relationship between distortion and sonar altitude. Second, because the angle-related effects on BSs with the same incident angle are the same, a novel method of unsupervised sediment classification is proposed for side-scan sonar images. Finally, the angle-BS curves of different sediments are obtained, and angle-related radiometric distortion is corrected. Experiments prove the validity of the proposed method.

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Detecting submerged objects: The application of side scan sonar to forensic contexts

Cited by 34 publications

References 30 publications

Route optimizing and following for autonomous underwater vehicle ladder surveys

Route optimizing and following for autonomous underwater vehicle ladder surveys

The use of geoscience methods for aquatic forensic searches

A New Radiometric Correction Method for Side-Scan Sonar Images in Consideration of Seabed Sediment Variation

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