Feature initialization is an important issue in the monocular simultaneous locahzation ana mapping （SLAM） literature as the feature depth can not be obtained at one observation. In this paper, we present a new feature initialization method named modified homogeneous parameterization （MHP）, which allows undelayed initialization with scale invariant representation of point features located at various depths. The linearization error of the measurement equation is quantified using a depth estimation model and the feature initialization process is described. In order to verify the performance of the proposed method, the simulation is carried out. Results show that with the proposed method, the SLAM algorithm can achieve better consistency as compared with the existing inverse depth parameterization （IDP） method.
A spherical cap radiator is one of the important parts of an underwater wide-beam imaging system. The back radiation of a traditional spherical cap radiator, which is composed of a vibrating cap and a rigid baffle, is strong and its far-field directivity function may fluctuate in big amplitude in the vicinity of the polar axis. These shortcomings complicate the processing of the reflective waves received for imaging the targets. In this study, the back radiation is weakened by adding an acoustic soft material belt between the vibrating cap and the rigid baffle. And the fluctuation mentioned above is lowered remarkably by dividing the spherical cap radiator into many annuluses and a relatively smaller spherical cap, and by controlling the phase retardations of all elements appropriately. Furthermore, the numerical experiments are carried out by the finite element method （FEM） to prove the validity of the above methods.
