Three-Dimensional Visualization of Underwater Target by Fusing Acoustical and Optical Information

Three-dimensional (3D) visualization technology has broad application potential in underwater environment perception, target detection, and other needs. In this study, to make the detected underwater targets more realistic and conducive to human eye observation, multibeam bathymetric sonar and optical sensors are combined to explore a visualization method for the 3D shape of underwater targets. The underwater environment and target 3D point cloud information are measured using multibeam bathymetric sonar and reconstructed using VTK (Visualization Toolkit) for triangulation of the point cloud. At the same time, preprocessing such as color correction and enhancement is conducted on optical images that contain targets underwater. Based on this, by combining the reconstructed 3D model with optical texture images, texture mapping is carried out. The results of the water tank test reveal that the method described in this study can produce good 3D visual effects.