Real-Time Mapping from Over-Water Imagery

UAS operations over water in GPS-denied conditions are currently challenging. Operators monitor video feeds over a potentially constrained communications link and attempt to build a mental model based on their observations. No automation exists to help with situational awareness, and navigation may be a challenge. Conducting surveys and detecting objects of interest is inefficient and ineffective as a result.Triangulate proposes to develop Vision Mapping Technology (VMT) for over-water use to address these challenges. VMT uses the properties of waves to navigate accurately when GPS is denied. It automatically distinguishes water from objects of interest through multiple reliable techniques enabling it to explicitly track and predict their trajectories. It constructs 3D models and saves images of objects of interest. It maps GPS anomalies. It assesses sea state and wind conditions. It tracks coverage for objects of different classes of mobility: drifting, fixed, moored, and powered. VMT builds and maintains a situational map with greater accuracy than the operator's mental model, requiring less workload and less communications bandwidth. Search and rescue, mine-hunting, and any missions launched or retrieved from a vessel stand to benefit greatly.