UWA360CAM: A 360$^{\circ}$ 24/7 Real-Time Streaming Camera System for Underwater Applications

TL;DR

This paper introduces UWA360CAM, a pioneering 360-degree real-time streaming camera system designed for underwater environments, addressing technical challenges to enable continuous 24/7 operation and high-quality panoramic imaging.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel, detailed design and implementation of an underwater 360-degree streaming camera system, filling a gap in existing marine imaging technology.

Findings

System successfully streams real-time 360° video underwater

Operates continuously 24/7 in challenging conditions

Provides high-resolution panoramic underwater images

Abstract

Omnidirectional camera is a cost-effective and information-rich sensor highly suitable for many marine applications and the ocean scientific community, encompassing several domains such as augmented reality, mapping, motion estimation, visual surveillance, and simultaneous localization and mapping. However, designing and constructing such a high-quality 360$^{\circ}$ real-time streaming camera system for underwater applications is a challenging problem due to the technical complexity in several aspects including sensor resolution, wide field of view, power supply, optical design, system calibration, and overheating management. This paper presents a novel and comprehensive system that addresses the complexities associated with the design, construction, and implementation of a fully functional 360$^{\circ}$ real-time streaming camera system specifically tailored for underwater environments. Our proposed system, UWA360CAM, can stream video in real time, operate in 24/7, and capture 360$^{\circ}$ underwater panorama images. Notably, our work is the pioneering effort in providing a detailed and replicable account of this system. The experiments provide a comprehensive analysis of our proposed system.