This book explores the transformative methods that have revolutionized underwater robotics in recent decades. Focusing on practical algorithms and real-world applications, this book fulfills the pressing need for a comprehensive resource on underwater acoustic-optical perception. Highlighting advanced techniques such as Transformer models for sonar object  tracking and detection, the ℓ1-total variation model, and acoustic-optical fusion, this book provides an in-depth exploration of sonar image processing, object detection, and tracking while addressing emerging challenges and future research directions.

Rich with illustrative examples and computational case studies, this book serves as an essential reference for diverse audiences. University students pursuing underwater information processing and engineers specializing in deep-sea exploration, subsea operations, and sonar data analysis find it particularly invaluable. By bridging foundational concepts with cutting-edge innovations, this book offers the tools and insights necessary to advance understanding and implementation in underwater robotics and perception systems.

Han Pan received the B.S. and M.S. degrees from Xidian University, Xi’an, China, in 2006 and 2009, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, in 2014. He is currently an associate professor with the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He serves on the Editorial Board of Aerospace Systems (Springer) and is a member of the Technical Committee of the Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS). His research interests include video object detection and tracking, Riemannian manifold optimization, and information fusion.

Zhongliang Jing received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electronics and information technology from Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China, in 1983, 1988, and 1994, respectively. From 1983 to 1985, he was with the China Leihua Electronics Technology Institute, Aviation Industries of China. From 1988 to 2000, he was with the Department of Automatic Control, Northwestern Polytechnical University. From 1997 to 1998, he was a research associate and senior visiting scholar with the University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. In 1999, he was a visiting professor with Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, IL, USA. In 2000, as a Cheung Kong professor, he joined the faculty of the School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, where he was the associate dean from 2001 to 2004. Hong Chen received his B.S. degree in Automatic Control from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1992, his M.S. degree in Transportation Engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in 2002, and his Ph.D. degree in Control Science and Engineering from HUST in 2011. He has been with the Wuhan Second Ship Design and Research Institute since 1992 and was promoted to Full Professor in 2009. His research interests focus on underwater robotics and automatic control.

Hong Chen received his B.S. degree in Automatic Control from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1992, his M.S. degree in Transportation Engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in 2002, and his Ph.D. degree in Control Science and Engineering from HUST in 2011. He has been with the Wuhan Second Ship Design and Research Institute since 1992 and was promoted to research fellow in 2009. His research interests focus on underwater robotics and automatic control.

Xiawei Guan received his B.S., Ph.D. degree from Huazhong University of science and technology, Wuhan, China, in 2011 and 2016. He is currently a senior engineer at Wuhan Second Ship Design and Research Institute. His research interests include computer vision and robotics.

Hao Zhang received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry and Materials Science from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2004 and 2010, respectively. Since 2010, he has been with the Wuhan Second Ship Design and Research Institute, where he currently serves as a research fellow​​. His research interests focus on underwater robotics and adaptive filtering. He is also a member of the Editorial Council for the journal Unmanned Systems Technology.