Ocean Engineering 281 (2023) 114779

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Ocean Engineering
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/oceaneng

A review of terrain aided navigation for underwater vehicles

Teng Ma a, b, Shuoshuo Ding b, *, Ye Li b, Jiajia Fan c
a
Nanhai Institute, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, 150001, China
b
Science and Technology on Underwater Vehicle Laboratory, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, 150001, China
c
School of Automation, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin, 150001, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Handling Editor: Prof. A.I. Incecik Underwater terrain aided navigation (TAN) has shown its potential to yield accurate navigational results for
long-term operation of underwater vehicles. Due to its independence and remarkable efficiency, TAN has
Keywords: attracted an increasing amount of interest in the field of underwater navigation. A variety of matching algo­
AUV rithms, including terrain correlation, filtering, and graph optimization, may be used to implement a TAN process.
TAN
These methods make use of terrain data acquired from different sensors and emphasize distinct benefits based on
SLAM
algorithm features. Consequently, numerous previous research attempts have attempted to analyze many TAN
Robustness
Underwater navigation technique types using various matching this article, we present a thorough review of recent developments in
underwater TAN techniques based on several kinds of matching algorithms. Specifically, we analyze the most
popular terrain matching techniques currently in operation, including correlation-based and filter-based tech­
niques, as well as bathymetric simultaneous localization and mapping (BSLAM) techniques based on filtering and
graph optimization theories without a priori map. We also address robust extensions of underwater TAN algo­
rithms, along with incisive observations and inspiring future research prospects.

1. Introduction
Numerous underwater vehicles are being developed to be used by
scientists, commercials, and the military due to quick advancements in
artificial intelligence, computing, and sensor technology. Autonomous
underwater vehicles (AUVs) with good mobility and independence serve
as crucial transmission platforms for carrying out tasks like the explo­
ration of marine resources, the mapping of the seabed, the maintenance
of marine engineering, the inspection of nuclear storage facilities, and
the research of marine environment (Paull et al., 2014; Sahoo et al.,
2019; Han et al., 2022).
For AUVs to operate effectively and precisely, navigation and posi­
tioning systems are crucial. Traditional navigation techniques, such as
global positioning systems (GPS), are unable to provide precise posi­
tional information for AUVs when they are underwater due to the sig­
nificant attenuation of radio signals. Dead-reckoning (DR) and inertial
navigation systems (INS) use measurements for acceleration, angular
velocity, and heading angles to estimate the position of a vehicle, which
has good autonomy and real-time performance (Ali et al., 2020). How­
ever, these systems have unbounded position error with increasing time,
making it challenging to use as an accurate navigation method for
long-term underwater operation. AUVs can get precise navigation re­
sults with restricted errors using acoustic navigation techniques like
long baseline (LBL) and ultra-short baseline (USBL) acoustic positioning
systems (Jalal and Nasir, 2021). Nevertheless, LBL navigation necessi­
tates the placement of several acoustic beacons on the bottom before­
hand, while USBL navigation relies on the AUV staying in contact with
the supporting mother ship, both of which drastically restrict the oper­
ational range of the AUV. Geophysical navigation technology is an
autonomous navigation technique that compares features with an a
priori reference map using the temporal and geographical distribution of
the measured gravity field, magnetic field, or seabed terrain.
Gravity-matched navigation does not require the sending or receiving of
outside signals because it is based on variations in the Earth’s gravita­
tional field. As a result, it benefits from being real-time and covert.
Geomagnetic-aided navigation can locate a vehicle using a multitude of
geomagnetic data, including total geomagnetic field strength, triaxial
geomagnetic field strength, magnetic declination, and magnetic field
gradient, which offers a number of distinctive traits for the adaptation
region selection and matching algorithms. However, once whales, large
cruise ships, and other large objects pass by the vehicle, they will have
an impact on the gravity and geomagnetic results collected in real time.

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: dingshuoshuo@hrbeu.edu.cn (S. Ding).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2023.114779
Received 23 October 2022; Received in revised form 9 April 2023; Accepted 6 May 2023
Available online 11 May 2023
0029-8018/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
T. Ma et al.
Underwater terrain aided navigation (TAN) is being extensively
researched as underwater mapping technology advances (Meduna et al.,
2010; Ye et al., 2017). TAN uses terrain features to reduce heading
projection error and can give AUVs long-term, all-weather navigation
without the need for satellites, acoustic beacons, or accompanying ships.
As shown in Fig. 1, a vehicle uses acoustic sensors, such as the
single-beam sonar (SBS) or the multi-beam sonar (MBS), to measure the
seabed terrain via a single measurement point or a bathymetric swath
which includes a sequence of measurement points. Combined with the
depth value from a manometer, the actual depths of measurement points
can be calculated. The position of the AUV in the digital terrain map
(DTM) is then determined by comparing the real-time bathymetric
measurements with the DTM (named as a priori map in TAN). Nowa­
days, simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technologies can
also achieve the TAN process for a vehicle, without a priori map. To
distinguish SLAM methods from TAN that requires a priori map assis­
tance, this paper names the latter terrain matching navigation (TMN)
methods.
Underwater TAN technology shows its potential to yield long-term
accurate navigation results for vehicles, and thus draw attentions from
global research widely. Researchers have seen encouraging achieve­
ments so far. For instance, under the supervision of the office of Naval
Industry research navigation and timekeeping technology, a simple
drifting underwater vehicle with a TMN system is being developed at the
University of Rhode Island. After fusing with underwater optical data,
TMN can efficiently estimate the drift trajectory of the vehicle and
obtain the trajectory estimation results near to the USBL navigation
(Casagrande et al., 2019). The HUGIN series of AUV was created by the
Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, the top developer of un­
derwater vehicles worldwide. The effectiveness of MBS and synthetic
aperture sonar (SAS) for TMN on the bottom has been proved effectively
using HUGIN as a vehicle (Hansen et al., 2005; Anonsen and Hallingstad,
2006; Kent Hagen et al., 2010). At Memorial University of Newfound­
land in Canada, SBS was employed as a seabed terrain sensing device for
an underwater glider, and particle filters were used to verify the
convergence of TMN (Brian Claus and Bachmayer, 2015). Carnegie
Mellon University developed an AUV with bathymetric SLAM (BSLAM)
systems for underwater terrain, achieving precise research of submarine
cavern microbial communities and water chemistry for situations
including caves without priori maps (Fairfield et al, 2006). Even though
TAN technology for underwater vehicles has advanced significantly,
issues like extremely reliable matching algorithms and low-resolution
priori maps still need to be resolved. Underwater terrain sensing de­
vices include doppler velocity logs (DVL) (Teixeira et al., 2016a;
Meduna et al., 2008), profiling sonar (PS) (Nakatani et al., 2008), for­
ward looking sonar (FLS) (Kim et al., 2017), side-scan sonar (Stalder
et al., 2008; Guo et al., 2010), altimeter (Williams and Mahon, 2003;
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of underwater TAN.
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Ocean Engineering 281 (2023) 114779
Kim and Kim, 2014), and underwater laser scanner (Albert et al., 2019a;
Legleiter, 2012) (Fig. 2). SBS and MBS are currently in widespread
usage, taking into account sensor features, bottom terrain parameters,
and operating needs of vehicles. While single-beam bathymetry offers
the benefits of straightforward data processing, strong real-time per­
formance, and low power consumption, it also has a limited amount of
information gathering and poor sweeping efficiency. Multi-beam ba­
thymetry performs better in terms of measurement speed, the depth of
intense interest, the precision of feature placement, etc. Also increased
are the system power requirements and on-board device needs. One of
the objectives for future development is the investigation of the under­
water TAN technique in multi-sensor situations by fusing several sensor
features.
This paper reviews the common methods in underwater TAN, and
lists some state-of-the-art products according to the application sce­
narios in AUV navigation. The rest of the paper is structured, as follows:
The correlation-based and filter-based TMN technique is discussed in
Section II. The BSLAM approach for priori-free maps is presented in
Section III, which also includes filter-based and graph-based methods.
Section IV of the TAN technique describes robustness extensions.
Finally, potential future development of TAN is discussed in Section V.
2. TMN with a priori terrain MAP
Reference navigation unit, terrain measuring unit, and terrain
matching unit are the three primary components of the AUV underwater
TMN system (Fig. 3). The initial position of the AUV in the DTM, or the
initial estimate of the vehicle’s position in the terrain matching unit, is
determined using the reference navigation unit, which is typically an
INS. Additionally, the vehicle’s position can be estimated by navigation
data fusion, which fuses both the outputs of the terrain matching unit
and the reference navigation unit, and the estimate of the vehicle’s
position simultaneously corrects the reference navigation’s cumulative
errors. The terrain matching unit, which consists of three components
comprising matching algorithm, DTM, and bathymetric data processing,
is the centre of the navigation system.
Along with the transducer, the terrain measuring unit also includes a
number of auxiliary transducers, which have a range of effects on the
bathymetric data quality. Real-time bathymetric data post-processing
calls for wild value rejection, tidal correction, beam selection, sound
line tracking, and compensation in order to lessen the impact of data
noise. DTM is the digitally enhanced, in-computer-advanced terrain
information of the seabed. DTM is the bathymetric data inside a given
region that is recorded as a discrete grid with adjacent grid node spacing
as the map resolution in the AUV TMN system. The central process of the
terrain matching unit analyzes the real-time bathymetry data with the
DTM data close to the reference navigation unit’s indicated position to
estimate the AUV position. Researchers have conducted numerous
studies on terrain matching algorithms. Below we review the matching
navigation algorithms from correlation-based approach, filter-based
approach.
2.1. Correlation-based TMN methods
The terrain contour matching (TERCOM) system, created by British
Aerospace, is the most well-known example of correlation-based terrain
matching algorithms. Many similar methods have evolved throughout
time (Siouris, 2004), including LACOM, RACOM, and SAMSOM. After
the AUV has traveled a predetermined amount of the route, a batch
processing of a set of terrain elevation profile data from the terrain
survey sensor is performed, and the terrain matching position is deter­
mined using correlation algorithms like the average-height algorithm
(Zhang and Hu, 2010), the minimum variance method (Lu et al., 2012),
and by looking for the terrain in the DTM that is the most similar to it.
They are a batch-oriented method that periodically correlates elevation
maps with measured bottom profiles. These approaches, which were
T. Ma et al.
Fig. 2. Terrain measurement equipment for underwater (a) Single-beam Sonar (Nygren, 2008) (b) Multi-beam Sonar (Ma et al., 2018) (c) Synthetic Aperture Sonar
(Hansen et al., 2005) (d) DVL (Nortek Group, 2022) (e) Profiling Sonar (Nakatani et al., 2008) (f) Forward Looking Sonar (Kim et al., 2017)
Fig. 3. Underwater TMN system (Chen et al., 2015a).
created based on TERCOM, have some important drawbacks, including
poor real-time performance and a high demand for carrier trajectory,
which will increase significantly when there is a considerable heading
variation.
The state and observation equations in the correlated terrain
matching algorithm are essentially nonlinear parameter estimation
equations. Maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) is a significant
parameter estimation technique that has been used to identify systems
and track moving targets with success (Peng et al., 2016). It greatly
facilitates underwater terrain matching by converting the parameter
estimate issue into a problem of determining the highest likelihood
probability. Due to its low a priori information requirements and
insensitivity to early localization mistakes, it is especially well suited for
multibeam bathymetry-based terrain matching at low sampling fre­
quencies. MLE was applied to underwater TMN and completed sea trials
on the AUV62F(Nygren and Jansson, 2003, 2004). A parallel terrain
matching correlation approach based on Field-Programmable Gate Ar­
rays (FPGA) was presented to address the time-consuming issue of
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Ocean Engineering 281 (2023) 114779
correlation computation during TMN (Traugott et al., 2003). The actual
computing time has been decreased by over 100 times compared with
similar PC applications. The selection strategy for matching areas and
the integrated terrain matching algorithm based on fixed thresholds of
line matching and surface matching were given in the work of (Zhang
et al., 2020), which also enhanced the similarity assessment technique of
the conventional TERCOM algorithm. Compared to the Hu
moment-based underwater matching technique, the algorithm can
produce more precise localization results and is more reliable. The MLE
can attain the Cramer-Rao (C-R) lower bound when certain canonical
requirements are met, and it is asymptotically effective for a large
number of terrain observations with unbiased characteristics and
Gaussian distributed probability density functions. In addition, when the
measurement errors of each beam are uncorrelated and the error co­
variances are the same, MLE is degraded to least squares estimation
(LSE) (Chen et al., 2015b), which is employed for terrain feature cor­
relation analysis. The suggested maximum a posteriori (MAP) parameter
estimation technique is similar to MLE in that it expands the optimal
objective function and integrates the predictive measure’s a priori
probability density function (Chen et al., 2019). Although the a priori
probability density function (PDF) is taken into account, the computa­
tion is increased, and the real-time performance is not as excellent as
MLE, the MAP method increases the accuracy of terrain matching
localization.
An iterative closest point (ICP) image alignment method that can
assess correlations totally utilizing information like geometry, color, or
grid is offered as another form of the correlation matching algorithm
(Besl and McKay, 1992; Zhang, 1994). This approach merely does the
iterative rigid transformation-nearest point determination-rigid trans­
formation procedure. It does not require forecasting the correlation
degree. Better localization results were achieved when the ICP method
was used for underwater terrain contour matching (Liu, 2003). The
iterative closest contour point (ICCP) algorithm has attracted a lot of
interest in underwater terrain matching as a specific example of the ICP
method (Kamgar-Parsi and Kamgar-Parsi, 1997; Wang et al., 2018a).
The vehicle does not need to maintain straight-line navigation in order
to comply with ICCP, but it must be aware of the exact location of the
beginning of the matching track in order to avoid deviating from it or
T. Ma et al. Ocean Engineering 281 (2023) 114779

completely failing the match. To overcome this drawback, the matching
process now includes the matching origin and is separated into two
stages: coarse matching and fine matching (Wang et al., 2006; Wang and
Chen, 2006). As a result, the algorithm is able to match the application
requirements accurately and can match them well. An improved ICCP
underwater terrain matching algorithm, a multipath parallel ICCP al­
gorithm, was proposed (Wang et al., 2018b). The method chooses the
centre point of the bathymetry data as well as the data points on each
side of the edge to generate three routes. With more location precision,
the system may successfully address the issue of matching divergence
brought on by significant initial INS inaccuracies. The revised ICCP al­
gorithm for underwater TMN was studied (Wang et al., 2018c). To sta­
tistically extract the various correlations between the terrain variables
and the matching mistakes, three statistical techniques are used,
including multiple regression, logistic regression, and discriminant
analysis. Multiple elements, including the quality of the inertial navi­
gation system, the map resolution, the starting INS error, the accuracy of
the sonar, and the length of the matching path, were examined for their
influence on underwater vehicle matching errors (Li et al., 2014).
In conclusion, the correlation-based terrain matching method locates
AUVs by working out how closely the detected terrain sequence and
DTM are related. The algorithm benefits from the following.
● The correlation between the real-time terrain and the reference
terrain in the matching region can be used to satisfy the matching
criteria for nonlinear terrain data.
● Even with large initialization localization errors, the correlation-
based technique may locate the genuine matching position when
the terrain features are sufficient and the search region is sufficiently
vast.
● The simplicity of execution and effectiveness of the correlation-based
terrain matching approach are strong indicators of its efficacy.
The algorithm also has some shortcomings.
● Since the algorithm performs poorly in real-time, the correlation-
based terrain matching approach is often used for batch process­
ing. The matching procedure is only carried out after the AUV has
collected sufficient terrain data.
● Correlation-based terrain matching cannot be adjusted during the
matching process since the carrier heading inaccuracy has a signifi­
cant influence on the technique.
● Before the matching technique can be used on a broad scale, the
poorly matched terrain blind area must be avoided by path design.
2.2. Filter-based TMN methods
A real-time TMN approach, the terrain matching filtering algorithm
continually estimates and corrects the location and velocity inaccuracies
of the reference navigation system while filtering the seabed terrain data
as soon as it is measured during the mission. The filtering technique
created based on the Bayesian Filter (BF) has drawn a lot of interest in
the terrain matching field, as demonstrated in Table 1. Under some
conditions, the BF can be implemented using parametric filters like the
linearized Kalman Filters (KF) or their non-linear counter parts like the
Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), the Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF); or
non-parametric approaches like the Particle Filter (PF), the Point Mass
Filter (PMF). Bayesian method is more sophisticated since it in­
corporates motion uncertainty between adjacent measurements which is
not accounted for in the batch correlation method (Melo and Matos,
2017).
The state noise and process noise should be distinct Gaussian dis­
tributions, and both the state transition model and the observation
model must also be represented by linear random equations for BF to be
optimally implemented as a KF. The Relative Measurement Covariance
Matrix (RMCM), which would be utilized for the KF update, was con­
structed using a matching strength function based on an Exponential
Normalized Squared Absolute Distance (ENSAD) (Bergem, 1993). And
use of Probability Data Association Filter with amplitude information
(PDAFAI), a variation of the Probability Data Association Filter (PDAF)
rooted in the KF framework, was suggested by Massa et al. (E Di Massa
and Stewart, 1997). Unlike PDAF, where Mean Absolute Difference
(MAD) is only used to confirm the measurement findings, PDAFAI
additionally uses the MAD criterion to assess the likelihood that each
measurement will match another. Thus, a linear motion model is utilized
to forecast the location of vehicle by using the velocity as the control
input. TAN is really a severely nonlinear issue, primarily since the
terrain measurement function is nonlinear. In order to increase path
reliability, the KF was also applied in combined terrain and gravity

Table 1
Comparison of terrain matching filtering algorithms.
Method Example Year Core Sensor Power Consumption Robustness to Initialization

Parametric Filters KF ENSAD (Bergem, 1993) 1993 MBS Low Weak

PDAFAI (E Di Massa and Stewart, 1997) 1997 MBS Low Weak
EKF Sistiaga et al. (Sistiaga et al., 1998) 1998 MBS Medium Weak
Mok et al. (Mok et al., 2013) 2013 Sonar Medium Weak
NIS-aided EKF (Houts et al., 2013) 2013 DVL High Strong
InEKF (Potokar et al., 2021) 2021 DVL Medium Strong
WEKF (Xu et al., 2021) 2021 DVL Medium Strong
UKF SPKF (Bergh Anonsen and Hallingstad, 2007) 2007 MBS Medium Weak
Li et al. (Li et al., 2011) 2011 Pressure Sensor Low Weak
An adaptive UKF (Franchi et al., 2021) 2021 2D FLS Medium Strong
Non-parametric Filters PF RBPF (Karlsson and Gustafsson, 2003) 2003 Sonar High Weak
Bergh Anonsen et al. (Bergh Anonsen et al., 2007) 2007 MBS High Strong
3D PF (Donovan, 2012) 2012 MBS/SBS/DVL High Strong
MPF and PPF (Teixeira et al, 2012) 2012 SBS/FLS Medium Weak
RBPF (Kim and Kim, 2014) 2014 SBS Low Weak
JBPF (Salavasidis et al., 2016) 2016 SBS Low Weak
DDPF (Melo and Matos, 2019) 2019 MBS High Strong
Salavasidis et al. (Salavasidis et al., 2019) 2019 Sonar Medium Strong
Fuzzy-PF (Liu et al., 2021) 2021 Sonar Medium Strong
Intelligent PF (Chai et al., 2022) 2022 Sonar Medium Weak
PMF PMF (Bergh Ånonsen and Kent Hagen, 2009) 2009 MBS Medium Weak
2D PMF (Kent Hagen et al., 2010) 2010 MBS/DVL Low Weak
Hagen et al. (Kent Hagen et al., 2011) 2011 SAS/MBS High Weak
4D RBPMF (Kent Hagen and Bergh Ånonsen, 2018) 2018 MBS High Strong
Peng et al. (Peng et al., 2019a) 2019 MBS Medium Strong

4
T. Ma et al.
matching navigation systems (Khalilabadi, 2022). Although the classic
KF-TMN approach is simple and cheap to compute, it has more difficulty
handling complicated non-linearities underwater. There has therefore
been little recent research on this subject.
EKF approximates state transfer and observation models to solve
nonlinear issues. A fundamental TMN technique was created at Sandia
Laboratories in the USA: Sandia Inertial Terrain Aided Navigation
(SITAN) based on EKF(Hostetler, 1978). One of the earliest continuous
TMN techniques that used recursive approaches and markedly differ­
entiated from batch techniques was SITAN (Hollowell, 1990; Baird et al.,
1990). It introduces nonlinearity into the measurement equations by
immediately updating the navigation filters with the received terrain
measurements. This technique enables the carrier to move for naviga­
tion while allowing for significant speed and direction mistakes. The
feature-based terrain matching approach proposed by Sistiaga et al.
employs EKF to enhance the vehicle heading and position and uses
matching information as a measure (Sistiaga et al., 1998). Houts et al.
(2013) designed a framework for an EKF-based navigation algorithm for
underwater TMN. By utilizing the fact that the error dynamics satisfies a
log-linear differential equation, the Invariant Extended Kalman Filter
(InEKF) (Potokar et al., 2021), a unique technique, extends the EKF. The
algorithm has strong convergence and accuracy, can be linearized, has a
small amount of approximation error, is independent of the current state
estimate. After identifying failure detections using Normalized In­
novations Squared (NIS), the method is modified to execute relocation in
order to regain the accurate estimate of the unmanned undersea sub­
mersible position. The findings were further streamlined and improved
using the weighted extended Kalman filter (WEKF) after a crude Monte
Carlo particle filter model was created for the AUV locations (Xu et al.,
2021). However, the EKF-TMN takes into account the linearization of
non-linear systems by using linearization-based concepts. The EKF gives
inaccurate findings and occasionally displays unstable situations when
the provided system is quite nonlinear or when the initial estimation
error is significant.
Unscented transformation, as opposed to linearization, somehow
describes non-linear systems better. It has been claimed that the UKF,
often referred to as the Sigma Point Kalman filter (SPKF), is preferable to
the EKF for nonlinear filtering applications (Wan and Rudolph, 2000;
Metzger et al., 2005; Paul and Wan, 2005). When determining the
location of a vehicle along a track using slope readings, a NIS check was
utilized to monitor the health of a UKF(Adam et al., 2010). The PDF of
states is captured by UKF using deterministic calculations and weighted
points without the requirement of computational measurements or
linearization of the system model (Metzger et al., 2005). The Norwegian
University of Science and Technology used SPKF to create an under­
water TMN algorithm, and the suggested filtering technique resolved the
issue of high computational consumption of the traditional extended
Kalman filter and the augmented state Kalman filter (Bergh Anonsen and
Hallingstad, 2007). The UKF approach, which can accurately predict the
state error under TMN, was suggested and is based on underwater
terrain matching information and depth pressure sensor information (Li
et al., 2011). Franchi et al. customized a unique navigation approach for
AUV with linear velocity 2D FLS estimate using an adaptive UKF
(Franchi et al., 2021). Moreover, applications of certain FLSs connected
to imaging are researched. By sampling the optimization technique with
Gaussian Sigma feature points, UKF-TMN models the distribution. The
choice of key points thus sets a restriction on how much of the entire
algorithm is used.
However, the strong nonlinearity of the terrain, randomness, and
non-Gaussian existence of the measurement error, which result in un­
manageable system linearization error, force the use of the parametric
filter method, whose navigation accuracy and system stability are
difficult to meet the mission requirements of an AUV. By avoiding the
assumption of a Gaussian distribution of the system measurement error
and the need for system linearization, the nonlinear non-Gaussian filter
based on PF and PMF directly solves the posterior Bayesian estimation
5
Ocean Engineering 281 (2023) 114779
without analytic solution by numerical methods. This increases the
system’s positioning accuracy and stability. As a result, in terrain-
matching navigation filtering algorithms, nonparametric filters such as
PF and PMF progressively take the role of parametric filters.
The Cramter-Rao lower bound (CRLB) for underwater applications
has been proposed by researchers at Linköping University in Sweden.
Using PF, they can determine how much terrain or depth excitation is
required for locating and navigation (Karlsson et al., 2003; Karlsson and
Gustafsson, 2006). They discovered that the underwater terrain’s CRLB
matched navigation outcomes and was only marginally inferior to the
particle filter estimate following early transients. Additionally, a
Rao-Blackwellized PF (RBPF) model was put forth, which significantly
improves the real-time estimation performance of the PF(Karlsson and
Gustafsson, 2003). When RBPF is taken into account for SBS underwater
TMN, the system performs better and is more reliable, especially when
there are significant initial uncertainties (Kim and Kim, 2014). The EKF,
the PF, and the RBPF are three non-linear filter algorithms that are
compared in (Kim et al., 2018) to demonstrate the superiority of the
RBPF in the presence of significant tidal level uncertainty. A
three-dimensional (3D) is added to the PF state vector to account for
changes in water level, allowing the estimator to function continuously
in places with shallow water. Moreover, a brand-new PF resampling
method is suggested to address the issue of limited sample capacity
(Donovan, 2012). The mixed particle filter (MPF) and the
Prior-correction particle filter (PPF) (Teixeira et al, 2012), two new filter
versions, are suggested as a solution to the issue of filter divergence
brought on by terrain symmetry and as a way to better accommodate
situations with incomplete terrain information. The data fusion issue for
single-beam sonar and DR navigation systems was resolved by Salava­
sidis et al. using the Jitter Bootstrap Particle Filter (JBPF), which has
enormous promise for missions in the Arctic (Salavasidis et al., 2016). It
is suggested that the PF be rebuilt using data-driven methods (Melo and
Matos, 2019). The Data-Driven formulation of the Particle Filter (DDPF),
which is particularly suited for terrain-based navigation with con­
strained sensors in AUVs, calculates the recommended distribution by
learning from the data, negating the need to explicitly describe all po­
tential system perturbations. A fuzzy-PF that employs fuzzy logic is
proposed, and the system exhibits high stability in the presence of
different Arctic current disturbances for the dynamic estimate of the
variance of particle distributions under terrain gradients (Liu et al.,
2021). In terms of underwater TMN, PF performs very well overall. In
particular, it can relocate AUVs using particle swarms. The need for so
many samples to accurately approximate the posterior probability of the
system, however, is the fundamental issue. AUVs in particular require
more samples and a more complicated algorithm while operating in
underwater locations with complex, unknown environments. As a result,
PF-TMN focuses on adaptive sampling techniques that can efficiently
decrease the number of samples. Additionally, the problem of sample
depletion brought on by the resampling phase’s loss of validity and
variety must be dealt with.
PMF is a very flexible non-linear Bayesian estimator that can handle
both Gaussian and non-Gaussian distributed noise when estimating the
PDF of states on a grid. Though more expensive to compute than PF,
PMF is more precise and reliable (Anonsen and Hallingstad, 2006). The
computation of the PMF would significantly rise if it were extended from
2D to 3D, while the PF would essentially remain unaltered. On a 2D grid,
the 2D PMF calculates the AUV’s estimated PDF. The PDF of positional
errors is described in assisted INS rather than the PDF of global posi­
tions, and the grid is defined in a north-aligned horizontal body fixed
frame (Kent Hagen et al., 2010). Terrain navigation is less precise in
low-altitude missions due to the multibeam sonar’s narrow measuring
area. Kent Hagen et al. (Kent Hagen et al., 2011) recommended the
implementation of an initial PDF-based Kullback-Leibler scatter and
batch approximation approach in PMF, as well as the use of synthetic
aperture sonar for interferometric side scan data. The approach has a
good convergence frequency and convergence accuracy in two
T. Ma et al. Ocean Engineering 281 (2023) 114779

locations: the sand dune region and the sand ripple region, and it can of terrain data, AUV pose estimation, data correlation, and the creation
successfully manage the non-linearization produced by shallow water. A of maps all employ front-end data correlation. The new poses and sub-
four-dimensional Rao-Blackwellized PMF (4D RBPMF) for flat and maps are created, and in the back-end, local optimization is done to
featureless landscapes is described (Kent Hagen and Bergh Ånonsen, reduce estimation errors by combining the optimization of various poses
2018). When calculating and accounting for tidal depth deviation in and terrain data. The closed-loop inspection is then given the optimi­
underwater TMN, a 3D edge-point mass filter extends tidal depth devi­ zation findings. The closed-loop algorithm locates the closed-loop by
ation as a state variable (Peng et al., 2019a). matching the new sub-map with each of the previous sub-maps. The
Different from correlation-based TMN methods, filter-based TMN system executes closed-loop correction and global optimization after
methods consist of a huge family, including EKF-TMN, UKF-TMN, PF- determining the closed-loop. After the year 2000, SLAM algorithms have
TMN, and so on. It’s almost impossible to draw a definite conclusion been developed for autonomous robots, which in turn have been applied
about the advantages and disadvantages of filter-based TMN methods, to AUVs(Leonard et al., 2001; Ribas et al., 2006; Ruiz et al., 2004). The
but some representative methods (EKF-TMN, UKF-TMN, PF-TMN and underwater BSLAM technique, whose algorithmic framework is pri­
PMF-TMN) of filter-based TMN methods can be analyzed. marily separated into filter-based methods and graph optimization
methods, is a practical method for underwater TAN without priori maps.
● EKF-TMN has the best real-time performance among EKF-, UKF-, and
PF-TMN methods. Both UKF- and PF-TMN used a sequence of sigma
3.1. Filter-based BSLAM methods
points or particles to fit a distribution of a vehicle’s position, which
will lead to numerous repeated calculations. Although EKF-TMN
Underwater SLAM encounters more difficult issues than land SLAM
methods also need to calculate Jacobian matrix for state transfer
because of the unstructured character of the underwater picture and the
and observation function of the vehicle and perform Taylor expan­
difficulty in pinpointing dependable features. Additionally, a lot of un­
sion, the Taylor expansion of a low-dimensional state transition
derwater characteristics depend on scale and are sensitive to perspective
equation (usually only including the coordinates and heading angle
and scale. The inertial and BSLAM fusion approach combines SBS data
of the vehicle) in TMN does not cause significant computational
based on world coordinates with IMU information in proprioceptive
burden. However, the nonlinearity of the terrain, as well as the
coordinates through the KF to enable autonomous navigation in both
bathymetric mapping process and AUV state transfer process with
artificial and natural situations (Newman and Durrant-Whyte, 1998).
colored noise, make the traditional EKF often unable to provide a
Carpenter et al. (Carpenter, 1998) suggested employing multibeam FLS
reasonable estimation of the vehicle’s position.
as a technique for concurrent mapping and localization (CML). A target
● Both UKF- and PF-TMN methods can yield accurate navigational
is created using a dense area of high-lever bottom backscatter, and then
results for a vehicle, and the former has lower computational
it is used for EKF after features from the target are extracted for iden­
complexity. But with an inaccurate initial position estimation of the
tification tagging. The region covered by FLS overlaps as the vehicle
vehicle, only the PF-TMN of the above three kinds of methods can
goes ahead, but the area covered by side-scan sonar has little to no
relocate the vehicle to its actual position. As another important
overlap. To produce the smoothed trajectory, a backward
member of non-parametric filters, PMF is more time-consuming than
Rauch-Tung-Striebel filter was combined with a forward stochastic map
PF when it is extended from 2D to 3D, but this also leads to a more
(Ruiz et al., 2004). For the intention of choosing and tracking environ­
precise and reliable performance.
mental regions, data from optical sensors and SBS is combined (Mahon
and Williams, 2004). Both attitude estimate and environmental
3. BSLAM without a priori terrain MAP
modeling produce good outcomes, according to data collected in the
Great Barrier Reef in Australia. An enhanced technique for underwater
Based on the same idea that has been employed for decades, un­
BSLAM is described (Roman and Singh, 2005), which employs a delayed
derwater TMN solves the vehicle position given an a priori map by
state EKF to create a large-scale terrain map from a number of smaller
combining track-derived navigation data with observations of known
sub-maps, with data correlation between the different sub-maps ac­
objects on the map. Although underwater TMN by an AUV has numerous
quired by terrain matching. The position of vertical planar structures
benefits, it also has the inherent drawback of depending on an already-
that are present in built settings like dams, ports, or marine platforms
known digital map of the bottom. As seen in Fig. 4, SLAM technology can
can be determined using imaging sonar. The EKF is used to calculate the
navigate and plan autonomously in uncharted territory without
position of vehicles with respect to its six degrees of freedom when the
depending on priori terrain maps, as well as autonomously sense and
sonar beam is read (Ribas et al., 2006). A procedure to build and
learn from the unknown environment to accomplish long-endurance,
maintain a sequence of local maps and to posteriorly recover the full
completely autonomous underwater navigation for AUVs. Processing
global map has been adapted for the underwater environment (Ribas

Fig. 4. Underwater BSLAM algorithm framework.

6
T. Ma et al.
et al., 2008).
Stuckey et al. employs carefully chosen bathymetric blocks in the
landscape as observations to increase the underwater vehicle’s naviga­
tional accuracy. Bathymetric grid points in the sub-map or navigation
cell, which are situated in known places with respect to the vehicle and
supplied into the EKF, reflect the observations and are used to update the
state of the vehicle. Using this selective approach, the number of ob­
servations and hence, the size of the system state, can be kept to a
manageable size (Stuckey, 2012). To perceive structured environments
for a dataset of Spanish ports, Burguera et al. (2010) and Mallios et al.
(2014) recommended using mechanical scanning sonar as a sensor. With
the help of a probabilistic scan matching approach, continuous scans are
cross-registered, and the relative posture between the gathered images is
used to calculate the vehicle displacement. Finally, a state-augmentation
EKF estimates and keeps the registered scan poses. The KRISO un­
manned surface vehicle is outfitted with a variety of navigation sensors
to assess its essential performance in surface navigation conditions,
waypoint tracking, obstacle avoidance, TMN, BSLAM, and other un­
derwater positioning navigation algorithms (Han et al., 2021; Jung
et al., 2019). The Korea Institute of Ship and Ocean Engineering used the
KRISO to test and validate the EKF-based SLAM algorithm for terrain in
the surface and underwater environment (Choi et al., 2019). The use of
EKF-BSLAM is able to handle uncertainties properly. However, the
computational cost associated with EKF grows with the size of the map.
Furthermore, linearization errors accumulate over time in long missions,
increasing the likelihood of producing inconsistent mapping solutions.
Due to their potent state model estimation capabilities, PF has
emerged as the standard approach for filter optimization algorithms in
SLAM techniques for underwater terrain, with ongoing advancements in
computer hardware technology and non-parametric estimation theory.
The RBPF that Carnegie Mellon University suggests using to implement
BSLAM extends the conventional 2D evidence grid to a 3D evidence grid,
but it has the drawback that each particle needs to retain the entire map
data, leading to a large memory footprint and poor computational effi­
ciency (Fairfield et al, 2006). Barkby et al. (Stephen et al., 2011a) sug­
gested a BSLAM technique that uses a RBPF and makes use of map
redundancy to store a grid-based two-dimensional (2D) depth map
efficiently. During the resampling phase, distributed particle mapping is
employed to reduce the computing cost of map copying. Additionally, it
is suggested to use Gaussian process (GP) regression to close loops in
areas with low overlap with previously investigated terrain. In order to
estimate the water depth at the measurement point and calculate the
particle weights based on the likelihood of the estimated value being
close to the actual measured depth value, the uncertainty in the length of
the measurement line is changed to uncertainty in the water depth at the
measurement point. Although the technique decreases the amount of
data storage needed by the algorithm, the real-time nature of the pro­
gram faces significant constraints due to the enormous amount of pre­
vious bathymetry data and the time-consuming creation of the GP model
(Stephen et al., 2011b, 2012).
Because of their great computational efficiency and ability to be
utilized to solve SLAM issues online, filter approaches, including UKF,
EKF, and PF, have received the majority of attention in recent research
on the BSLAM algorithmic framework. However, filter approaches fall
short in several ways when compared to graph optimization techniques.
● The only accurate data association during BSLAM is the loop closure
produced by the terrain matching approach, and as there aren’t
many loop closures over the majority of the mission, the AUV can
only estimate its current positional attitude a priori using the filter
method.
● The BSLAM creates a trajectory map by fixing sonar bathymetry data
to the AUV trajectory as a pose-only SLAM technique without sign­
posts, necessitating the preservation of all previous AUV states and
bathymetry data. The particle filter BSLAM method, for example,
forces all pose data to be retained in the state space of each particle,
7
Ocean Engineering 281 (2023) 114779
which consumes more storage and computation than the graph-
optimized SLAM method and loses the benefit of the high comp ac­
curacy. In the traditional filter method, only the current pose of the
AUV is retained in the state space, and no correction of the historical
pose data of the AUV can be achieved.
● Contrary to the graph-optimized SLAM approach, the filter SLAM
method has difficulty correcting historical data correlations since a
high proportion of the loop closures achieved by terrain match in
BSLAM would be incorrect due to interference from the underwater
environment.
As a result, the graph-optimized SLAM technique is chosen as the
fundamental algorithmic framework for addressing BSLAM. The BSLAM
issue is represented and solved by creating a pose graph and using the
graph optimization algorithm that is appropriate for BSLAM.
3.2. Graph-based BSLAM methods
Traditional filter approaches suffer from exponential memory con­
sumption explosion in the face of large-scale underwater terrain con­
struction, making it impossible to ensure algorithm solution efficiency as
BSLAM techniques progress from theoretical derivation to practical
implementation. The pose-based graph is a current preferred way for
handling the full SLAM problem since it is a natural representation. As
shown in Fig. 5, pose-graph is abstract representations of an optimiza­
tion problem consisting of pose nodes, which represent the variables to
be estimated and edges that represent constraints on the variables they
connect. The graph optimization method saves all navigational infor­
mation and historical feature correlation findings in the form of a pose-
graph that can be updated to provide precise, real-time navigation in
large-scale map environments and better meet the practical application
requires of underwater BSLAM(Palomeras et al., 2019; Li et al, 2018).
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution suggested a technique
that combines underwater visual SLAM with BSLAM, using graph-
optimized SLAM and a framework of smoothing map-building algo­
rithms with square root information, while resolving AUV positioning,
map construction, and the relative coordinates of the camera within the
AUV. It is shown that the system can use measured data from the Seabed
AUV to create incredibly accurate 3D visual maps of underwater terrain
in a steady and autonomous method. (Kunz and Singh, 2013). To create
3D point clouds, DVL navigation is paired with information about
seabed strip profiles (Albert et al., 2013). When there is a lot of overlap
between different point clouds, a probabilistic ICP technique is used to
register them while constructing a set of constraints. The pose-graph is
optimized for these restrictions using g2o (Kümmerle et al., 2011). A
robotic fish with mechanical scanning sonar, which might be useful in
confined underwater spaces, is used by Chen et al. using the g2o method
to apply pose-based graph SLAM(Chen et al., 2013). They also suggest
building a pose graph in increments, which are put into the map opti­
mizing compiler to determine the optimal position for each scan, in
response to the slow sampling frequency of the MBS data (Chen et al.,
2015). However, the system only supports offline operation due to its
computationally demanding structure.
The architecture for a factor graph based BSLAM that was proposed
used a sparse point cloud to represent the underlying bathymetry
recorded by the DVL and a modified improved Generalized Iterative
Closest Point (GICP) algorithm to align the submaps (Bichucher et al.,
2015). The horizontal and vertical planes of the cave may be surveyed
concurrently thanks to the Sparus AUV’s two mechanically scanned
imaging sonars. After cross-alignment correction, probabilistic scan
matching algorithms are employed for the scans. The system is able to
predict the trajectory in real-time and has successfully built a 3D surface
model of the cave, which is a useful technique for autonomous obstacle
avoidance and path planning (Mallios et al., 2016). The relative un­
certainty in vehicle placement is decreased by applying BSLAM with
time-constrained sub-maps, starting with the alignment issue of point
T. Ma et al. Ocean Engineering 281 (2023) 114779

Fig. 5. The pose-graph of BSLAM.

clouds acquired using a single-line laser structured light system. This

Table 2
method may provide self-consistent, high-resolution bathymetric maps
Combined underwater TMN methods.
of the bottom while removing calibration bias by adjusting for location
errors (Massot-Campos et al., 2016). Generalized graph SLAM systems Method Institution Year
are introduced by Chaves et al. It is often employed in the fields of Correlation Method + Parallel KF (Xie Northwestern Polytechnical 2007
multi-vehicle cooperative navigation and autonomous hull detection et al., 2007) University
TERCOM + ICCP (Zhang and Yang, University of Birmingham 2008
(Chaves et al., 2017). Teixeira et al. (2016b) develop sub-maps from
2008)
MBS scans using probabilistic volumetric approaches, matching pairs of PDAF + ICCP (FanWu et al., 2009) Naval University of Engineering 2009
sub-maps with constraints in a factor graph framework to account for TERCOM + ICCP + KF (Yuan et al., Harbin Engineering University 2011
navigation drift and enhance map accuracy. Ma et al. (Ma et al., 2019) 2011)
divide the track of an AUV into sub-maps using the Differences of Nor­ TERCOM + SITAN (Yuan et al., 2012) Harbin Engineering University 2012
TERCOM + PF (Zhao et al., 2014) Beihang University 2014
mals (DoN). The system uses closed-loop weight voting to help with
TERCOM + ICCP + UKF (Wei et al, Naval University of Engineering 2015
global and local trajectory correction and includes extreme likelihood 2015)
terrain estimation to build weak data correlations within the sub-maps, ICCP + KF (Li et al., 2018) Nanjing Institute of Technology 2018
offering an accurate navigation solution for the AUV. Through the Regularized PF + RBPF (Palmier et al., The French Aerospace Lab 2019
2019)
application of BSLAM, maps constructed by AUVs can be used to
improve vehicle navigation estimation, either in real-time or in
postprocessing. system; however, the positioning precision is gravely affected by the
In conclusion, the pose-graph is used to store all of the states and enormous cumulative error. Zhang et al. (Wang and Chen, 2006; Zhang
observations by the AUV using the graph-based BSLAM algorithm for and Yang, 2008) suggested utilizing the TERCOM algorithm as the first
underwater terrain, which may then create spatially constrained asso­ alignment for ICCP. However, TERCOM employing the MSD operator is
ciations at any given time. The algorithm can operate in a large-scale simply least squares estimate approach, which has the drawback of not
map environment and achieve correlation and correction of historical accounting for the statistical features of the random variables. The
data. However, in terms of solution effectiveness, computational con­ TERCOM method is used to lower the initial INS error, followed by the
sumption, and map consistency representation techniques, the graph- ICCP algorithm to find the best matching location and the Kalman filter
based BSLAM has several issues. The issues of incorrect data associa­ metric, which uses the difference between the two matches to correct the
tion, discrimination, and an invalid closed loop, particularly in the un­ inertial guiding error and produce the best estimate (Yuan et al., 2011).
derwater terrain soothing region, remain unresolved. As a result, some To address the drawback that navigation errors tend to diverge when
work on terrain SLAM gradually concentrates on the development of initial INS errors are substantial, initially optimized TERCOM paired
effective closed-loop identification and techniques such as pose-graph with SITAN contour matching algorithms are provided (Yuan et al.,
building and robustness extension, as detailed in the next section. 2012). In a short amount of time, the program makes use of INS’s
excellent precision and little heading error. The first matching error is
4. Robust methods for TAN significantly decreased by identifying the ideal distance function dif­
ference and initial matching point between the two shapes. Zhao et al.
4.1. Robust extensions of TMN (2014) combine TERCOM with particle filtering to create an algorithm
that can rapidly and precisely determine a starting position, even when
The effectiveness of correlation-based and filter-based TMN algo­ there are significant initial position mistakes. Wei et al. integrate TER­
rithms has been demonstrated, although their accuracy and robustness COM, ICCP, and UKF matching algorithms utilizing batch matching
remain lacking. The researchers created a combined TMN algorithm by methods to address the same issue and potentially find solutions for
fusing several techniques, as illustrated in Table 2. problems with comparable terrain. They do this by building on the
The initial phase and the tracking phase of TMN are frequently concepts of the widely used coarse search and precise matching tech­
separated. Where the first phase estimates the starting position for niques (Wei et al, 2015). When the INS indication trajectory is lengthy,
terrain-matching navigation. The position is updated throughout the the ICCP-based TMN system is susceptible to divergence. These tech­
tracking phase using a method called terrain matching. The system’s niques combine numerous correlation-based or filter-based TMN algo­
initial location estimation is provided by the reference navigation rithms, maximizing the benefits of each algorithm while reducing its

8
T. Ma et al.
drawbacks. The fused system effectively enhances the robustness of the
algorithm to initialization by resolving the issue that the system tends to
diverge when the initial error is severe.
Additionally, numerous researchers have tried various filtering
methods, iterative estimating, and positional tracking fusion algorithms.
The correlation approach and parallel KF are coupled in a proposed
combined terrain-aided navigation system to account for estimating
mistakes caused by repeating terrain features or measurement noise (Xie
et al., 2007). By examining the disparities between the DTM data and the
elevation information gathered in real time, the system employs the
correlation approach and the parallel KF to determine the carrier loca­
tion. On the basis of Probabilistic Data Association Filtering (PDAF) and
ICCP, a combined seabed terrain matching technique is suggested (Fan
et al., 2009). Traditional KF may choose one of them based on the
nearest neighbor criteria, but PDAF enhances the accuracy and practi­
cability of seabed terrain matching by integrating all of them into a
single matching candidate using probabilistic weighted averaging. By
using the difference between the matching result and the INS output as
the Kalman filter metric and then correcting the cumulative error of INS
over time using filter feedback correction, KF is utilized in the tradi­
tional ICCP method to enhance the indication trajectory used by ICCP(Li
et al., 2018). The regularized PF and the RBPF are two well-known
particle filters that serve as the foundation for a measuring approach
for adaptive kernels based on approximate Bayesian computational fil­
ters (Palmier et al., 2019). Convergence speed is greatly increased and
severe multi-mode issues are resolved by preventing PF divergence by
maximizing the influence of weight correction.
The ICP-based derivative approach can produce more precise
alignment results for TMN since it does not require segmenting the point
set and feature processing. However, large search computation, low
convergence, and inaccurate correspondence points continue to be is­
sues. Three scenarios were chosen for simulation experiments at the
University of Queensland, where several ICP algorithm variations were
used to match seabed landscape features. The simulation trials were
scored on accuracy, precision, and relative processing cost. The out­
comes show that no one ICP version can concurrently match landscape
features accurately, precisely, and quickly for all three circumstances
(Donoso et al., 2017). The following features describe the algorithm’s
top-performing ICP variants: 1) Filter the dataset using several methods.
2) Use normals to describe the surface geometry of the area. 3) Gauge
how well the two point clouds fit together by measuring the separation
between the points in the point cloud and the matching surface in the
reference point cloud. A back propagation neural network (BPNN) built
on chaotic optimization is added to the classic ICP technique to address
the issue that it is prone to local miniaturization. The excitation func­
tions employed by conventional BPNN is replaced with chaotic excita­
tion functions in the method, and a chaotic motivating function is
utilized to find the weights of the BPNN(Zhang and Xu, 2009). When
there are considerable mistakes in the beginning location, an upgraded
ICCP method is employed to resolve the mismatch issue with sequence
mapping techniques (Zhang et al., 2022). The technique constructs
rotationally invariant terrain feature descriptors, models terrain distri­
bution characteristics as 2D Gaussian distributions, and uses the terrain
feature descriptors to compare local terrain maps and DTM.
Standard underwater TMN implementations cause erroneous
weighting in regions with incomplete terrain information due to map
uncertainty and incorrect calculations of sensor noise. Dektor et al.
(Dektor and Rock, 2012) provide a better algorithm to get rid of ficti­
tious weighting. The algorithm modifies the filter variance using
methods from the vehicle and statistics fields to lessen the likelihood of
over-reliance. On information-rich terrain, it converges much more
quickly, while on information-poor terrain, the chance of erroneous
fixes is reduced. The KF serves as the foundation for the UKF, which is
less stable. To make the UKF more robust when it deviates from the real
parameters, an underwater TMN framework based on the Huber oper­
ator is suggested (Lu et al., 2019). In order to ensure that the weights are
9
Ocean Engineering 281 (2023) 114779
asymptotically variance bounds and provide resilience to nonlinear
systems, Palmier et al. enhanced the Kalman filter by weighting the
ensemble (Palmier et al., 2021). The computational burden of the PMF
in the INS and TMN tight coupling was reduced by using the RBPMF
method (Sung and Lee, 2018).
PF is a significant option for TMN due to its aptitude for dealing with
non-linear, multi-modal issues. However, outliers can cause the PF to
fall or even diverge in terrain observations. One method to lessen the
impact of outliers on the estimates is to use a robust cost function to
correct the Gaussian likelihood function (Zhang et al., 2014). Peng et al.
(2019b) corrected the measurement model for substantial weight setting
in PF using the Huber function and validated it using a multibeam sonar
simulation of a realistic underwater digital map. By creating a multi­
modal representation of particle sets with a non-Gaussian distribution
by multi-model fitting, the PF based on locally regularized representa­
tion and cluster analysis is presented to reduce the instability of the PF
caused by terrain self-similarity (Murangira et al., 2011). A fox adapt­
able PF based on Kullback-Leibler-Distance (KLD) was added to TMN to
increase efficiency (Zhou et al., 2018). According to the size of the state
space, KLD modifies the number of sampled particles online and alters
the particle bin size. The conventional KLD-PF, on the other hand, has a
set bin size, which is easily conducive to an increase in particle count
during the pre-filtration stage. A terrain-based multibeam bathymetry
approach was proposed by Jung et al. and included in the PF framework.
The traditional PF framework is enhanced by the use of terrain rough­
ness data, and the issue of particle barrenness near smooth sections of
the landscape is resolved (Jung et al., 2019). In order to address the
issues of flat seabed terrain regions and high terrain self-similarity for
underwater TMN, long short-term memory (LSTM) networks are utilized
in RBPF. LSTM networks are time series neural networks appropriate for
processing and forecasting issues with very long intervals and delays in
time series. For its part, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology
employed LSTM to train noise covariance and TAN measurement models
in the RBPF to enhance the performance of TMN in flat and repetitive
terrain (Lee and Bang, 2018). Without external assistance and ground
velocity readings, DR inevitably suffers inaccuracies inversely propor­
tionate to the mission range and current velocity. To concurrently esti­
mate the AUV location and current velocity, robust dispersion
estimation of the RBPF was developed and applied in a low-power,
computationally practical TMN(Salavasidis et al., 2021). These
PF-TMN improvement methods improve the system instability problem
caused by the self-similarity of the seafloor topography. Progress has
also been made in reducing computational consumption, improving
particle effectiveness, and reducing sample depletion.
In addition, many researchers combine data from many sensors to
build an underwater TMN fusion system, taking into account the fea­
tures of the underwater environment and the high accuracy standards of
AUV navigation. A combined terrain navigation system consisting of
INS, TMN, DVL, and a magnetic compass (MCP) is designed (Li et al.,
2010). Based on the BPNN adjusted information sharing factor, a
modified intelligent KF is used to process the data from many sensors.
According to experimental findings, the intelligent KF and these sensors
greatly increase the AUV’s capacity to adapt to its environment and
navigate accurately. Zhang et al. (Zhang and Gao, 2010) integrated in­
formation from the INS, DTM, bathometer, MCP, and DVL to create a
terrain-passive combined navigation system. It eliminates navigation
system mistakes by using KF for parameter estimation. A multi-source
information fusion matching navigation technique is proposed for
terrain, marine physical, and chemical factors (Murad Reis et al., 2017).
The technique focuses on choosing factors like salt, temperature, and pH
in a certain ocean region and calculating weights for each parameter
chosen in order to identify the parameter weights with the greatest
variability and the least amount of correlation.
Different sonar sensors can be used to collect underwater bathy­
metric data, and the way sonar images and data are processed has an
impact on the accuracy and reliability of the entire TMN. As a result, this
T. Ma et al.
is a crucial area for further investigation. The position connection be­
tween the footprints is not considered in the traditional approach of
terrain matching, which only uses depth information in correlation
computations. As a result, methods relying on local bathymetry data
have limitations. For instance, in TERCOM, the AUV is required to travel
in a straight path while maintaining a constant speed during the
matching process, and in SITAN, the initial correction error must be
minimal in order to prevent extrema. New terrain elements are required
to supplement the positional data in order to address this issue. The
analysis of the depth measurements as a grey-scale picture, a special
feature used to represent the original bathymetric data, is one way that
image features for image alignment are a potential technique of inter­
polating bathymetric data to create a regular bottom grid. An area sta­
tistic is the texture characteristics. Textures of all sizes and forms,
ranging from a few meters to hundreds of meters, may be found in
almost every sonar picture. The application of image analysis techniques
will make TMN available in places where other approaches are not
suited since the seafloor presents some roughness in acoustic pictures,
even if the area is rather flat. The approach is insensitive to orientation
faults and resilient to picture rotation and scale variation. Song et al.
(Song et al, 2016) put out the concept of employing multibeam bathy­
metric sonar data for underwater TMN image processing. Bathymetry
data are interpolated into digital picture form at the start of the
measuring procedure. Then, a vector of underwater terrain character­
istics is defined by the acquisition and integration of image texture
features into the terrain navigation parameters. The underwater terrain
is then scanned using real-time data, and the position estimate is
determined by the feature vector with the best match. They further
suggest fusing pixel space data with conventional grey-scale histograms
to enhance the picture. A digital terrain map is scanned using edge
corner pixels to create an edge corner histogram, which is then utilized
as a template to look for pertinent peaks to infer vehicle placements
(Song et al, 2015).
A normal distribution is fitted after first analyzing the gradient dis­
tribution of various terrain regions, and the point with the greater
gradient value is then chosen as the matching point for the distribution.
Last, localization employs minimal absolute difference matching. The
simulation results demonstrate that the gradient fitting-based terrain
matching localization approach not only lowers computing costs but
also increases localization accuracy (Gao et al., 2018). Kurt et al. (Kurt
and Douglas, 2020) describe an active TMN method that employs
reinforcement learning and an optimized information-theoretic frame­
work to address stochastic dual exploration-exploitation optimization
issues. The technique for dynamic path planning balances the conflicting
navigational objectives of area coverage and location localization. While
the exploitation component employs a novel entropy-based strategy for
information identification and prioritization in conjunction with
maximum a posteriori estimate approaches, the exploration component
makes use of a multiple Gaussian process model. A two-stage combined
matching technique was presented (Ding and Cheng, 2022). Using
multibeam measured surface elevations and terrain-averaged factors
search, a coarse matching position is first acquired, and a fine matching
position is subsequently obtained by applying inertial restrictions and
scaling factors. The ballistic transformation matrix has a new numerical
solution in which the scale factor and the transformation matrix may
each be solved on their own. It is suggested that selection criteria based
on underwater navigation matching regions and fuzzy set theory be used
to assess underwater terrain matching areas with the aid of information
features (Wang et al., 2019). The method is capable of overcoming the
lack of singular values in fuzzy sets and minimizing the impact of
geographic characteristics on the effectiveness of matching. Yang et al.
(Yang et al, 2021) merged various agents and provided a map
matching-based framework for localizing collaborative intelligence
using an a priori map model of the scalar field. Based on each intelligent
agent’s positional and covariance estimations in several subgroups, the
system quickly computes a covariance intersection technique to
10
Ocean Engineering 281 (2023) 114779
estimate the locus of each agent. The conventional technique traverses
the computationally expensive and very complicated underwater a
priori map using all real-time bathymetry points. Yan et al. (2022)
suggested a terrain matching localization approach based on local
terrain characteristics and global search techniques in order to increase
computing efficiency while assuring accuracy. The multibeam bathy­
metric terrain is constructed using the Moving Least Square (MLS)
approach, and the local MLS surfaces’ shapes are described using local
curvature binary discrimination descriptors. The findings demonstrate
that TMN, which is more than 80% more effective than conventional
approaches and is based on local terrain characteristics and global
search strategies, can identify automobiles quickly without sacrificing
precision. These strategies for improving terrain matching increase the
accuracy of terrain matching and decrease computational complexity by
looking into the correlations between underwater terrain feature in­
teractions and effective matching methods. Overall, it strengthens the
system and increases location accuracy.
4.2. Underwater robustness BSLAM
Similar to underwater TMN, the main part of the BSLAM system is
data collection and analysis. For a further positional estimate, effective
data collection and processing methods are essential. Image alignment, a
crucial step for patching and motion estimation applications, is chal­
lenging due to the properties of the data obtained by various sonar
sensors. With the use of FLS, a Fourier-based registration method for
BSLAM is suggested (Hurtos et al., 2015). This method can handle the
low resolution, noise, and distortions of sonar picture production. Both
continuous and discontinuous views may be aligned with excellent
success with this method, and it also demonstrates impressive robust­
ness in a featureless environment. High-detail and high-resolution
acoustic pictures may be produced by calculating posture constraints
across several frames and integrating the sonar data from each frame
into the overall map. However, the images of FLS are very sensitive to
the attitude of the AUV, and observations of the same feature at different
bow angles differ significantly, necessitating the AUV to observe the
same area twice at similar bow angles in order to construct a data cor­
relation. As a result of these demanding conditions, the closed-loop
detection process of BSLAM is quite difficult. Palomer et al. (Albert
et al., 2016) developed a probabilistic representation of ICP by taking
into account the uncertainty of the poses of vehicles and measured
points; dividing it into two stages: point-to-point matching and
point-to-plane matching; and proposing a heuristic based on the un­
certainty of the position of the matching surface point cloud, which
significantly lowers the computational complexity of ICP. The method,
however, is limited to adjusting the relative placements of the patches
and is unable to repair the intrinsic flaws in the patches. Nevertheless,
this is limited to adjusting the relative placements of the patches and is
unable to repair the intrinsic flaws in the patches. A two-step alignment
technique comprising feature-based initial alignment and iterative
closest point-based fine matching of subsea terrain features is suggested.
This process takes into account the uncertainty of the measured points
and robot postures. Along with the navigation sensor data from under­
water vehicles, the AUV poses of each point cloud recorded are also kept
in the EKF state vector (Albert et al., 2019b).
Size, weight, and energy limitations are common for underwater
vehicles. The complete system’s computational costs, effectiveness, and
algorithmic real-time must also be taken into account. The Korea
Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) suggests a panel-
based BSLAM algorithm (Kim and Kim, 2017), which uses rectangular
panels to represent the terrain, reduces the size of the error covariance
matrix by bilinear interpolation, and is efficiently solved using EKF. This
algorithm aims to increase the operational efficiency of parametric fil­
ters in BSLAM. The bottom terrain bathymetry data is lost when it is
reduced to rectangular panels using this technique, and the results of its
position estimate may be inaccurately updated when the unmanned
T. Ma et al.
underwater vehicle (UUV) position is outside the updated panel. They
also put forward a weighted gridding approach for panel-based under­
water BSLAM in 2019 (Jang and Kim, 2019), which treats the UUV
location as a probabilistic distribution pattern. In terms of computa­
tional complexity, memory use, and map construction accuracy, it is
better. Researchers present a BSLAM method that is low-cost, compu­
tationally efficient, and reliable enough for long-term operation utilizing
only a single, inexpensive terrain altimeter (Jang and Kim, 2022).
Krasnosky et al. (E Krasnosky and Roman, 2022) created massively
parallel Gaussian process regression (GPR) to operate on a graphics
processing unit to make GPR practical for real-time applications (GPU).
Multimodal state estimation in underwater bathymetric particle-
filter SLAM (BPSLAM) is beneficial. Numerous researchers have stud­
ied particle update, resampling techniques, particle weight estimation,
and computational requirements in order to increase the robustness of
the system. The PSO-UFastSLAM technique, which is based on UFAST
SLAM and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), was proposed by He
from Ocean University of China. Combining UPF and UKF allows for the
assessment of the vehicle’s posture and feature position (He et al.,
2015). Norgren et al. (Norgren and Roger, 2018) bring the BSLAM
approach to the area of iceberg mapping. The AUV produces auditory
pulses upwards to record the undulating changes in elevation at the base
of icebergs as a source of information. An EKF implementation is shown
to estimate the relative location, relative velocity, and relative angle of
the iceberg to the AUV based on the RBPF method. The particle
weighting approach is strengthened to make it more robust, and the
method employs all available beam data to build the probability func­
tion for locations with few characteristics. The University of the Balearic
Islands in Spain has investigated the viability of using a laser scanning
system as the seabed terrain sensing device in conjunction with the
BPSLAM algorithm to solve SLAM of terrain (Massot-Campos et al.,
2019). While the particle motion accounts for both the bow angle de­
viation and the eastward and northward deviations, the method in­
terprets the observation model of laser spots as a Gaussian model. To
increase memory economy, the technique additionally switches the map
representation from a grid map to a self-balancing binary search tree
grid map. Similar to PF, in BPSLAM based on the average trajectory map
representation, the vehicle’s estimated current position is the sole thing
that is retained while the average trajectory map stores all of the pre­
vious states of vehicles (Zhang et al., 2021). The detection of erroneous
loop closures using a reliable backend approach based on particle
filtering theory, PF-Backend, is used in the effective bathymetric SLAM
method that is proposed, which also speeds up the calculation time for
the SLAM system (Ma et al., 2020). The suggested solution uses a
forward-looking sonar-based AUV occupancy grid and is practicable
(Mu et al., 2022). The technique employs a novel Particle Swarm
Optimization Genetic Algorithm (PSO-GA) scan matching approach and
the EKF to predict the AUV’s mobility state and match the sonar scan
data to the grid map.
As a full SLAM method, the graph-based BSLAM updates the map
based on all historical bathymetric measurements. Similar to underwa­
ter TMN, BSLAM generates erroneous feature associations as a result of
flat seabed terrain and measurement inaccuracies in seabed terrain. In
order to solve the SLAM issue while taking into consideration faulty
feature associations, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
introduces the Incremental SLAM with Consistency-checking (ISCC)
method (Graham et al., 2015). To assure the correctness of feature as­
sociation discrimination, the system picks the closed-loop by two
judgements. The algorithm chooses the outliers in the closed-loop out­
comes by two judgements to guarantee the correctness of feature asso­
ciation discrimination. Compared to conventional techniques, this
maximizes the number of valid terrain feature associations in the final
positional map, which will significantly increase the consistency of the
maps created by BSLAM. In order to reduce the computing cost of
finding incorrect terrain feature correlations in SLAM systems, the
Pairwise Consistency Maximization (PCM) technique is employed to
11
Ocean Engineering 281 (2023) 114779
identify these linkages. The PCM algorithm chooses the set of nodes with
the highest pairwise consistency as valid terrain feature associations and
the other nodes as invalid terrain feature associations after character­
ization of all data associations as nodes in the graph and calculating the
consistency between each pair of data associations in turn to determine
whether there is a connection between the corresponding nodes (Man­
gelson et al., 2018). Ma et al. used the multi-window consistency
method (MCM) on a graph-based BSLAM to identify loop closures and
achieve robustness in preventing incorrect loop closures (Ma et al.,
2018). However, MCM needs a lot of processing power, particularly
when handling a lot of loop closures. With the main benefit of being able
to scale storage and performance to allow for huge, globally consistent
bathymetric maps while maintaining high accuracy, graph-based
BSLAM employing Sparse Gaussian Processes (GPs) as a bathymetric
representation has been proposed (Bore et al., 2018). When the smooth
seabed prior fails to hold, the representational inadequacies of GPs as a
whole become clear. The BSLAM system that is reliable and effective is
made possible by the suggested rectangular panel map construction and
updating approach. The raw bottom terrain data obtained by an echo­
scope 3D profiling sonar is used to generate a 3D alignment approach
based on six-degree-of-freedom probabilistic scan matching (Ferreira
et al., 2022). Using the probabilistic track projection approach, the
initial displacement estimation is reliable and accurate. These tech­
niques improve closed-loop accuracy, feature consistency discrimina­
tion, and invalid data association rejection more effectively. The
underwater BSLAM system’s robustness and localization accuracy have
both increased.
The accuracy of the position estimate and the computing efficiency
can both be significantly enhanced by using the appropriate pose-graph
construction technique. A two-step graph optimization approach is
suggested by the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden to address the
SLAM issue for underwater terrain in practical applications (Torroba
et al., 2019). The major purpose of the technique, which incorporates a
filter-like step into the framework of the conventional graph optimiza­
tion algorithm, is to correct the latest UUV poses that have been added to
the pose map as an indicator for map consistency detection. The sug­
gested approach has the ability to maximize the consistency of the final
generated terrain map even when the terrain tends to be flat throughout
the majority of the region encountered by the industrial survey, greatly
boosting navigational resilience. Lajoie et al. (2019) suggested a
Discrete-continuous Graphical Model (DC-GM) for SLAM, in which the
discrete component represents outliers and correlations while the
continuous part solves the traditional SLAM issue. The approach also
develops the discrete-continuous graphical model’s semi-deterministic
relaxation features.
Data collection for bottom terrain using a combined underwater laser
scanning system and multi-beam sonar method is described. Collings
et al. (2020) evaluated the relative accuracy and characteristics of un­
derwater laser scanning systems and MBS in order to explore the
cooperation of sonar and underwater laser scanning technologies for
SLAM of underwater terrain. However, when GPS is available, SLAM
does not significantly improve the self-consistency of MBS data, whereas
it does improve the map consistency of underwater laser scanning sys­
tem terrain mapping results. Experimental results demonstrate that
SLAM systems combining underwater laser scanning systems with MBS
can effectively correct for unmanned underwater vehicle navigation
errors. The PointNetKL network was utilized for matching confidence
assessment for matching terrain features. It primarily combines the
PointNet neural network parameterization findings with the Cholesky
decomposition of the objective function covariance, and as a conse­
quence, it is invariant for input term permutations (Torroba et al.,
2020). Additionally, it is feasible to classify the SLAM navigation
adaption region using the raw bathymetry data to estimate the covari­
ance of the generic ICP algorithm’s findings for matching terrain fea­
tures, as well as to determine the confidence level of feature matching
for various terrains. SLAM with multi-sensor data fusion has been the
T. Ma et al.
subject of extensive research, and the fusion algorithm has helped with
localization to some extent. However, more investigation is still required
to determine how to tightly couple the data from various sensors and
prevent system instability brought on by a single sensor. In other sectors,
neural network algorithms have produced superior outcomes and are
currently undergoing rapid development. As will be discussed further
below, improving the application of machine learning methods to un­
derwater SLAM is still a crucial field of research.
5. Discussion
In the previous sections, the underwater TMN and BSLAM ap­
proaches without priori maps are covered. Below, we discuss some of the
potential and important directions that could need further investigation
in this domain.
5.1. Low-cost laser ranging sensors
Traditional TAN depends on underwater vehicles to deliver acoustic
sensing tools like SBS and MBS, which transmit and receive sound pulses
to acquire terrain information. However, this technology is less covert
and the acoustic pulses it emits while acquiring data on the terrain of the
bottom are more prone to detection. When used with TAN, low-cost laser
ranging sensors like underwater laser scanning systems are more pre­
cise, less expensive, and more stealthy. These sensors significantly
improve the stealth capabilities of underwater TAN systems by making
up for the requirement to transmit sound pulses to the bottom from
outside. With no external equipment required and no active acoustic
signal emission, the UUV can carry out accurate long-range delivery and
local combat operations over a large distance through the TAN system,
making it difficult to detect and track throughout the process.
The use of low-cost laser ranging sensors to replace conventional
multibeam sonar will be an important practical development for un­
derwater TAN as sensor technology is further developed, even though
the current low-cost laser sensors developed by research institutions like
the University of Girona (Albert et al., 2019a) in Spain still have serious
issues like a heavy reliance on water quality and a too short scanning
distance.
5.2. Long-range navigation with low-accuracy priori maps
The range of UUVs has significantly increased as a result of current
advances in fuel technology. One example is the Autosub Long Range
(McPhail et al., 2019), which can operate for months and travel thou­
sands of kilometers in a single deployment, enabling continuous sur­
veillance and data collection in some of the world’s most remote regions.
The most efficient, stealthy, and precise way of navigation for
long-distance underwater operations is TMN. Long-range underwater
TMN has been the subject of extensive study by several research orga­
nizations, including the National Oceanography Centre (UK), the Uni­
versity of Southampton (Salavasidis et al., 2016, 2019, 2021), and the
Centre d’études aériennes (France) (Palmier et al., 2019).
The UK National Oceanography Centre intends to conduct a valida­
tion test of TMN over a distance of around 2000 km using the Autosub
Long Range with 4000 m grade multibeam sonar. However, it is
currently difficult to provide high-precision priori underwater terrain
maps for the entire length of the long range TMN due to the enormous
cost of existing high-precision seafloor mapping missions. As a result,
the long-range underwater TMN still faces the challenge of low-accuracy
priori maps.
5.3. Highly robust active TAN
The degree of bottom undulation and the ocean environment have an
impact on TAN accuracy, in addition to the motion and environmental
sensing capabilities of the unmanned underwater system. The seafloor
12
Ocean Engineering 281 (2023) 114779
terrain tends to be flat and has relatively little terrain as a result of sea
current erosion. Additionally, due to the influence of ocean reverbera­
tion and carrier movement, MBS, an underwater terrain sensing device,
has a high observation noise level, making the accuracy of TAN in the
majority of the flat terrain region difficult to assure and severely limiting
its robustness.
Researchers at the University of Lisbon, the Korea Institute of Marine
Engineering, the University of Montreal, and MIT have examined the
robustness of TMN algorithms in the face of matching failure from a
variety of methods, including filters and graph optimization. The effi­
ciency of the present algorithms, however, continues to be influenced by
the degree of undulations in the seabed terrain and is still primarily
centered on the passive processing of observation findings. In under­
water TMN, it’s crucial to perform global path planning using a priori
maps because no terrain matching methods can estimate a vehicle’s
position in an area with complete flat terrain. It is still worthwhile to
research how to quantify the impact of terrain fluctuation on the cost
function of path planning. Dynamic path planning can increase the ac­
curacy of bathymetric SLAM systems by driving the vehicle to areas with
complex terrain for valid and accurate loop closure detection. Therefore,
the use of underwater TAN systems may be advanced by using active
path planning technology to enable AUVs to actively go to locations with
distinctive terrain characteristics for high confidence terrain feature
matching (Kurt, 2020; Singh, 2022).
5.4. Biomimetic navigation technology
Emerging navigational technology known as “bio navigation” imi­
tates and draws inspiration from animal instincts for navigation. The
majority of conventional navigational methods concentrate on the exact
measurement of navigational parameters and exploring navigation in
geometric space. Even while most animals in nature frequently lack the
ability to assess navigational parameters precisely, they are nonetheless
capable of carrying out a number of challenging navigational tasks.
Apart from differences at the level of the navigation sensor, the most
significant aspect of bio navigation technology is its ability to combine
navigation data in geometric space with empirical navigation knowl­
edge in topological space and guidance instructions for important nodes
in the navigation topology space to produce a challenging set of navi­
gation instructions that can then direct the service’s movement in
accordance with a predetermined plan. The development of artificial
intelligence, micro manufacturing, high performance chips, computer
vision, and other associated technologies, as well as the emergence of
research findings in animal behavior and physiology, have all greatly
aided the study of bio navigation technology.
With high levels of autonomous intelligence and a powerful self-
correction function, brain-like SLAM, which is based on the rodent
brain’s navigation mechanism, has the potential to solve the underwater
BSLAM navigation problem. It iterates navigation information and map
construction through navigation cell activity updates and uses local
scene cell activity for correction. Milford et al. developed a navigation,
localization, and planning method based on the RatSLAM hippocampus
model and employed a novel positional cell type combining head
orientation cells with positional cells for navigation and map generation
(Milford and Gordon, 2010). The program calculates the excitation and
inhibition of positional cells in a continuous attractor neural network,
allowing the robot to navigate in three dimensions in the horizontal
plane. DolphinSLAM expands RatSLAM to the 3D aquatic world (Silveira
et al., 2015). Pre-processing, local environment recognition, motion
detection, a 3D positional grid, and an empirical map are the major
components of the technique. The results of the experiments demon­
strate that the optical and auditory image descriptors of DolphinSLAM
are capable of localizing and creating maps using empirical maps, as
well as appropriately extracting elements of environmental perception
information.
Given that they do not rely on high-precision sensors and are highly
T. Ma et al.
adaptable to the environment, behavioral bio navigation, brain-like
SLAM, and other bio navigation technologies are promising for a wide
range of applications. They do this by overcoming the shortcomings of
conventional navigation algorithms and are more flexible than tradi­
tional navigation algorithms.
5.5. Machine learning technologies
Path planning and image processing have both been extensively
studied using machine learning approaches like deep learning and
reinforcement learning. Using depth and reinforcement learning to
address the fundamental issues in underwater TAN will be one of the key
development directions for underwater terrain navigation. In under­
water TAN, both terrain image feature extraction and path planning will
play a key role in navigation accuracy.
A PointNetLK model, combining the PointNet network with the
Lucas & Kanade (LK) method, was suggested by Carnegie Mellon Uni­
versity to handle the alignment issue with 3D point cloud data (Aoki
et al., 2019). This technique has the distinct benefit of avoiding the
computation of costly point correspondences in two point clouds. It also
outperforms conventional nearest-neighbor iterative algorithms in
terms of accuracy, initialization resilience, and computing economy. By
integrating sampling-based path planning with reinforcement learning
algorithms, Google has developed a layered solution for remote navi­
gation task fulfillment dubbed Probabilistic Roadmap-Reinforcement
Learning (PRM-RL) (Faust et al., 2018). While creating reinforcement
learning models using feature-based deep neural networks in continuous
state and action spaces, the approach implements sampling-based path
planning using probabilistic roadmaps. In the discussion of a successor
deep reinforcement learning algorithm, Zhang et al. suggested a
migration learning method for path planning (Zhang et al., 2017). It is
possible to migrate learning between tasks using the algorithm by
setting the reward weight vector in the reward function by features,
which makes it simpler to adjust to the changing environment. The al­
gorithm makes the assumption that the dynamic properties of the
environment remain constant under different reinforcement learning
tasks.
The use of deep learning and reinforcement learning in point cloud
image extraction and path planning is receiving ever more attention as a
result of the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technology.
There are still certain issues with the application of current algorithms to
the process of underwater TAN, though, given the uniqueness of the
operational environment of the seabed terrain navigation system.
● Seabed terrain regions are flat and frequently lack distinguishing
characteristics, in contrast to conventional point cloud image
extraction and classification applications that represent target ob­
jects as 3D features. At the same time, methods for extracting and
classifying point clouds from images based on machine learning al­
gorithms will face a significant challenge because seafloor terrain
sensing devices like multibeam sonar are susceptible to significant
terrain distortion in the mapping results due to ocean reverberation,
current interference, and carrier movement.
● The degree of underwater terrain is positively correlated with TAN
accuracy, but the relationship is non-linear and challenging to
quantify. As a result, a major challenge for the application of rein­
forcement learning algorithms to the TAN process is how to appro­
priately take into account the degree of underwater terrain in the
reward function of the framework.
6. Conclusion
Underwater TAN is an important task that has attracted a significant
amount of research interest in recent years, and various algorithmic
models with different characteristics are employed for this task. In this
article, we present a thorough analysis of TAN strategies utilizing several
13
Ocean Engineering 281 (2023) 114779
algorithm models, including methods for matching the seabed terrain to
navigation missions and underwater BSLAM without previous maps.
Besides, the TAN robustness extension approaches have been covered,
and some potential research directions have been discussed.
As underwater TAN technology advances toward high robustness
and long-range navigation, the classic multi-beam sonar maybe replaced
by the underwater laser ranging sensor as a key sensing device in certain
working scenes. The development of underwater TAN technology still
has a lot of potential for advancement in terms of accuracy, secrecy, and
utility.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare the following financial interests/personal re­
lationships which may be considered as potential competing interests.
Data availability
No data was used for the research described in the article.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China under Grant 52001093; in part by the High-level
scientific research guidance project of Harbin Engineering University,
under Grant 3072022TS0102; in part by the Key Research and Devel­
opment Program of Heilongjiang Province, under Grant 2022ZX01A05.
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