SeaVipers- Computer Vision and Inertial Position/Reference Sensor System (CVIPRSS)

This work describes the design and development of an optical, Computer Vision CV based sensor for use as a Position Reference System PRS in Dynamic Positioning DP. Using a combination of robotics and CV techniques, the sensor provides range and heading information to a selected reference object. The proposed optical system is superior to existing ones because it does not depend upon special reectors nor does it require a lengthy set-up time. This system, the Computer Vision and Inertial Position Reference Sensor System CVIPRSS, pronounced SeaVipers, combines a laser range nder, infrared camera, and a pan and tilt unit with the robust TLD Tracking, Learning, and Detection object tracker. In this work, a Sea-Vipers prototype is evaluated, showing promising results as viable PRS with research, commercial, and industrial applications.