A Real-Time Subsea Environment Visualisation Framework for Simulation of Vision Based UUV Control Architectures

The simulation requirements of UUV visual-based technology points toward a readily available candidate solution in the form of modern 3D graphics rendering technology, which has the capability to generate photorealistic representations of synthetic subsea environments in real-time. This paper describes the ongoing development of a simulation platform for synthetic seafloor terrain generation and visualization. Originally designed as an operator aiding-tool to provide improved situation awareness through visual immersion in the mission scenario, it is intended to use the augmented reality display representing the onboard camera to support the continued appraisal of a real-time vision-based UUV navigation system currently under development within the Research Centre.