@Article{cmc.2026.085901,
AUTHOR = {Jiaqi Mi, Congcong Ma, Xinrui Li, Sixu Huang, Kunpeng He},
TITLE = {Multi-Source Data Fusion for Underwater Geophysical Field Matching Navigation: A Systematic Review of Methodologies, Challenges, and Future Trends},
JOURNAL = {Computers, Materials \& Continua},
VOLUME = {},
YEAR = {},
NUMBER = {},
PAGES = {{pages}},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/cmc/online/detail/28238},
ISSN = {1546-2226},
ABSTRACT = {In underwater environments where global navigation satellite systems are unavailable, autonomous underwater vehicles and other underwater vehicles require autonomous navigation methods, among which matching navigation based on seafloor topography, gravity anomalies, and geomagnetic anomalies can effectively mitigate the cumulative errors of inertial navigation systems. To exploit the complementary characteristics of different geophysical fields, multi-source data fusion has become a key technique for improving the robustness and accuracy of underwater matching navigation. This review systematically examines recent advances in underwater geophysical-field data fusion. First, existing methods are categorized into three levels: map-level, feature-level, and decision-level fusion, and a standardized preprocessing pipeline is summarized. On this basis, the core fusion strategies at each level are distilled. Map-level fusion focuses on spatial interpolation and multi-source joint inversion. Feature-level fusion covers the evolution from traditional descriptors to lightweight deep representations and decision-level fusion discusses filtering-based mechanisms, factor graph-based frameworks, and robust matching strategies. Furthermore, a comprehensive testing and benchmarking scheme is proposed, covering datasets, task definitions, and evaluation metrics. Finally, emerging directions, including the integration of physical modeling with learning-based enhancement and adaptive uncertainty management, are discussed. This review aims to provide a unified and reproducible reference for future research and system implementation in underwater geophysical-field fusion navigation.},
DOI = {10.32604/cmc.2026.085901}
}