# US 2025/0147199 A1 · A system and a method of detection and delineation of an object that is at least partly buried in seabed

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- Number: US 2025/0147199 A1
- Document ID: US20250147199A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 18/832,469
- Filed: 2023-01-23
- Published: 2025-05-08
- Earliest claimed: 2022-01-25
- Assignees: Argeo Robotics AS
- Applicants: Argeo Robotics AS
- Inventors: Johan Mattsson; Thorbjørn Rekdal
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20250147199A1

## CPC

- G01V 3/165: operating with magnetic or electric fields produced or modified by the object or by the detecting device (with electromagnetic waves G01V3/17)
- B63G 8/001: {Underwater vessels adapted for special purposes, e.g. unmanned underwater vessels; Equipment specially adapted therefor, e.g. docking stations (self-propelled or direction controlled diving chambers with mechanical link to a base B63C11/42)}
- G01V 3/15: specially adapted for use during transport, e.g. by a person, vehicle or boat
- G01V 3/38: Processing data, e.g. for analysis, for interpretation, for correction
- B63G 2008/004: {autonomously operating}
- G01V: GEOPHYSICS; GRAVITATIONAL MEASUREMENTS; DETECTING MASSES OR OBJECTS; TAGS (means for indicating the location of accidentally buried, e.g. snow-buried, persons A63B29/02)
- B63G: OFFENSIVE OR DEFENSIVE ARRANGEMENTS ON VESSELS; MINE-LAYING; MINE-SWEEPING; SUBMARINES; AIRCRAFT CARRIERS (means of attack or defence in general, e.g. turrets F41H)

## Abstract

The disclosure relates to a system for detection and delineation of an object that is at least partly buried in seabed, the system comprising: a marine vehicle (1,10); a controlled electric dipole source (3) mounted on the marine vehicle; a first receiver electrode pair (4) comprising vertical receiver electrodes (4a, 4b) mounted on the marine vehicle, the vertical receiver electrodes (4a4b) separated from one another in the vertical direction of the AUV (1); a 3 axes magnetometer assembly; wherein the receiver pair (4) is configured to measure electric field and the 3-axes magnetometer assembly is configured to measure magnetic field. The disclosure further relates to a method of detection and delineation of an object that is at least partly buried in seabed.

## Claims

### Claim at position 1

1-15. (canceled)

### Claim 16

A system for detection and delineation of an object that is at least partly buried in seabed, the system comprising:
an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, AUV, having a hull;
a controlled electric dipole source mounted on the hull of the AUV;
a first receiver electrode pair comprising vertical receiver electrodes mounted on the AUV, the vertical receiver electrodes separated from one another in a vertical direction of the hull of the AUV,
a 3-axes magnetometer assembly mounted in the hull of the AUV, wherein the receiver pair is configured to measure electric field and the 3-axes magnetometer assembly is configured to measure magnetic field;
a second receiver pair comprises inline receiver electrodes mounted on the hull of the AUV, the inline receiver electrodes are separated from one another in a longitudinal direction of the AUV; and
a third receiver pair comprises crossline receiver electrodes mounted on the hull of the AUV, the crossline receiver electrodes are separated from one another in a crossline direction of the AUV,
wherein the second and the third receiver pairs are configured to measure electric field.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The system according to claim 16, wherein the controlled electric dipole source comprises at least two metal electrode plates mounted on a first end and a second end of the hull of the AUV.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The system according to claim 16, wherein the controlled electric dipole source operates in the frequency range between 1 and 1000 Hz.

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The system according to claim 16, wherein the system further comprises a processor which is configured to use measurements from at least one receiver electrode pair and the 3-axes magnetometer assembly to create a conductivity structure of a buried object.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The system according to claim 19, wherein the processor is configured to increase sensitivity of measured data by using a Synthetic Aperture method.

### Claim 21 (depends on 16)

The system according to claim 16, wherein a position of a buried object relative to the AUV is estimated from data measured with at least one receiver electrode pair and the 3-axes magnetometer assembly.

### Claim 22

A method of detection and delineation of an object that is at least partly buried in seabed, the method comprising steps of:
transmitting electromagnetic energy from a controlled electric dipole source mounted on a hull of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, AUV;
arranging a first receiver electrode pair comprising vertical receiver electrodes mounted on the hull of the AUV, the vertical receiver electrodes separated from one another in a vertical direction of the AUV;
arranging a second receiver pair comprising inline receiver electrodes mounted on the hull of the AUV, the inline receiver electrodes separated from one another in a longitudinal direction of the AUV;
arranging a third receiver pair comprising crossline receiver electrodes mounted on the hull of the AUV, the crossline receiver electrodes separated from one another in the crossline direction of the AUV;
measuring electric field with the first receiver electrode pair, the second receiver pair, and the third receiver pair mounted on the hull of the AUV;
measuring magnetic field with at least one 3-axes magnetometer assembly mounted in the hull of the AUV; and
processing measured data with a processor located onboard of the AUV, the processor adapted to increasing sensitivity of the measured data by using a Synthetic Aperture method.

### Claim 23 (depends on 22)

The method according to claim 22, wherein the electromagnetic energy transmitted by the controlled electric dipole source comprises discrete frequencies between 1 and 1000 Hz.

### Claim 24 (depends on 22)

The method according to claim 22, wherein using the Synthetic Aperture method comprises normalizing the measured data with a background field and combining with optimized weights.

### Claim 25 (depends on 24)

The method according to claim 24, wherein the Synthetic Aperture method is given as;
A
⁡
(
w
)
=
[
d
A
(
1
)
d
B
(
1
)
,
d
A
(
2
)
d
B
(
2
)
,
…
,
d
A
(
L
)
d
B
(
L
)
]
T
where
d
A
=
E
N
⁢
w
,
d
B
=
E
Nb
⁢
w
E
N
=
(
E
1
N
⁡
(
1
)
…
E
J
N
⁡
(
1
)
⋮
⋱
⋮
E
1
N
⁡
(
L
)
…
E
J
N
⁡
(
L
)
)
,
E
Nb
=
(
E
1
Nb
⁢
(
1
)
…
E
J
Nb
⁢
(
1
)
⋮
⋱
⋮
E
1
Nb
⁢
(
L
)
…
E
J
Nb
⁢
(
L
)
)
,
w
=
[
w
1
,
w
2
,
…
,
w
J
]
T
.
the matrices EN and ENb containing magnetic or electric field values for controlled electric dipole source positions 1, . . . , J and all receiver positions 1, . . . , L;
and w1 . . . wJ denoting weights.

### Claim 26 (depends on 25)

The method according to claim 25, further comprising:
obtaining conductivity structure of a buried object by feeding the processed data to a trained Convolutional Neural Network.

### Claim 27 (depends on 24)

The method according to claim 24, wherein optimizing the weights comprises minimizing the following function:
P
⁡
(
w
)
=

D
-
A
⁡
(
w
)

2
+
α
⁢

∂
w

2
wherein the vector D is a designed Synthetic Aperture,
α is a regularization parameter, and
∂w is consecutive changes of the weights wj.