Towards Real-time Underwater Object Detection and Identification: Integrating Acoustic Sensing with Edge Computing
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13052/jwe1540-9589.2532Keywords:
Underwater acoustic sensor network, sensor deployment, underwater object detection, underwater object identificationAbstract
In this work, we present a method to streamline underwater object detection, environmental monitoring, and surveillance. The proposed system employs an underwater acoustic sensor (UAS) network to detect and analyses objects within a three-dimensional underwater space, considering constraints imposed by acoustic path loss. The approach combines three key techniques–Delaunay’s convex hull-based reconstruction, the laws of magnetic equilibrium, and the Doppler effect–to improve the identification of object type, shape, location, and motion. Sensors are arranged in an optimized grid, with each grid containing eight sensors and a central insulated magnetometer to measure net magnetic field intensity. Data collected by the sensors is transmitted to a surface anchor or sink node for further processing and analysis. A prototypical deployment in an artificial pond further validates our approach, using a waterproof ultrasonic sensor, an electromagnetic coil, and a magnetometer synchronized via Arduino Uno. Real-time measurements confirm accurate detection and tracking of objects, demonstrating the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed edge-enabled underwater monitoring framework.
Downloads
References
D. Q. Huy, N. Sadjoli, A. B. Azam, B. Elhadidi, Y. Cai, and G. Seet, “Object perception in underwater environments: a survey on sensors and sensing methodologies,” Ocean Engineering, vol. 267, p. 113202, 2023.
E. Felemban, F. K. Shaikh, U. M. Qureshi, A. A. Sheikh, and S. B. Qaisar, “Underwater sensor network applications: A comprehensive survey,” International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks, vol. 11, no. 11, p. 896832, 2015.
J. Aguzzi, L. Thomsen, S. Flögel, N. J. Robinson, G. Picardi, D. Chatzievangelou, N. Bahamon, S. Stefanni, J. Grinyó, E. Fanelli, et al., “New technologies for monitoring and upscaling marine ecosystem restoration in deep-sea environments,” Engineering, 2024.
S. Tyagi, A. Shah, A. Srivastava, “Underwater object identification with edge computing paradigms,” in The 5th International Workshop on Big Data Driven Edge Cloud Services (BECS 2025) Co-located with the 25th International Conference on Web Engineering (ICWE 2025), June 30-July 3, 2025, Delft, Netherlands.
J. Heidemann, M. Stojanovic, and M. Zorzi, “Underwater sensor networks: applications, advances and challenges,”Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, vol. 370, no. 1958, pp. 158–175, 2012.
A. Pal, F. Campagnaro, K. Ashraf, M. R. Rahman, A. Ashok, and H. Guo, “Communication for underwater sensor networks: A comprehensive summary,” ACM Transactions on Sensor Networks, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 1–44, 2022.
Y. LeCun, L. Bottou, Y. Bengio, and P. Haffner, “Gradient-based learning applied to document recognition,” Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 86, no. 11, pp. 2278–2324, 1998.
J. Redmon, “You only look once: Unified, real-time object detection,” in Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, 2016.
G. Bradski, “Learning OpenCV: Computer vision with the OpenCV library,” O’REILLY Google Scholar, vol. 2, pp. 334–352, 2008.
T. O. Fossum, Ø. Sture, P. Norgren-Aamot, I. M. Hansen, B. C. Kvisvik, and A. C. Knag, “Underwater autonomous mapping and characterization of marine debris in urban water bodies,” arXiv preprint arXiv:2208.00802, 2022.
S. Fayaz, S. A. Parah, and G. J. Qureshi, “Underwater object detection: architectures and algorithms–a comprehensive review,” Multimedia Tools and Applications, vol. 81, no. 15, pp. 20871–20916, 2022.
M. A. Hayat, G. Yang, A. Iqbal, A. Saleem, and M. Mateen, “Comprehensive and comparative study of drowning person detection and rescue systems,” in 2019 8th International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies (ICICT), pp. 66–71, IEEE, 2019.
L. Zhang, C. Li, and H. Sun, “Object detection/tracking toward underwater photographs by remotely operated vehicles (ROVs),” Future Generation Computer Systems, vol. 126, pp. 163–168, 2022.
M.-J. Rakotosaona, P. Guerrero, N. Aigerman, N. J. Mitra, and M. Ovsjanikov, “Learning delaunay surface elements for mesh reconstruction,” in Proceedings of the IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, pp. 22–31, 2021.
C. M. Sorensen, “Magnetism,” Nanoscale Materials in Chemistry, pp. 169–221, Wiley Online Library, 2001.
K. Toman, “Christian Doppler and the Doppler effect,” Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union, vol. 65, no. 48, pp. 1193–1194, Wiley Online Library, 1984.
Google, Google Earth, 2024. Available: https://earth.google.com/, Accessed: 2024-01-28.
Advanced Converter, Find depth by coordinates, 2024. Webpage. Available: https://www.advancedconverter.com/map-tools/find-altitude-by-coordinates, Retrieved on January 28, 2025.
J. Coulthard, QuikGrid (Version 5.4.4), 2007. Computer software. Last accessed on January 22, 2025.
Tsuchiya, Acoustic Absorption Coefficient in Seawater, 2010. Webpage. Available: https://tsuchiya2.org/absorption/absorp_e.html, Retrieved on January 25, 2025.
M. A. Ainslie and J. G. McColm, “A simplified formula for viscous and chemical absorption in sea water,”The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, vol. 103, no. 3, pp. 1671–1672, Acoustical Society of America, 1998.
Wikipedia Contributors, “Doppler Effect,” 2025. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doppler_effect. [Accessed: Feb. 5, 2025].
J. Zhang, X. Xiang, and W. Li, “Advances in marine intelligent electromagnetic detection system, technology, and applications: A review,” IEEE Sensors Journal, vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 4312–4326, IEEE, 2021.
Wikipedia Contributors, “Diamagnetism, Paramagnetism, and Ferromagnetism,” 2025. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamagnetism, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramagnetism, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferromagnetism. [Accessed: Feb. 5, 2025].
