Title: Underwater Surveying via Bearing only Cooperative Localization,
Abstract: Bearing only cooperative localization has been used successfully on aerial
and ground vehicles. In this paper we present an extension of the approach to
the underwater domain. The focus is on adapting the technique to handle the
challenging visibility conditions underwater. Furthermore, data from inertial,
magnetic, and depth sensors are utilized to improve the robustness of the
estimation. In addition to robotic applications, the presented technique can be
used for cave mapping and for marine archeology surveying, both by human
divers. Experimental results from different environments, including a fresh
water, low visibility, lake in South Carolina; a cavern in Florida; and coral
reefs in Barbados during the day and during the night, validate the robustness
and the accuracy of the proposed approach.