Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Navigation and Proximity Operations for Deep Phreatic Thermal Explorer (DEPTHX)
Abstract
This discussion will focus on the issues of navigation, homing, and docking in "overhead" environments in the context of autonomous underwater vehicle behavior. Ocean going AUVs (as well as UGVs and UAVs) have the benefit of the possibility of periodic external navigation corrections to purely proprioceptive (dead reckoned) position and velocity vector estimates. Sub-ice (as well as subterranean) environments preclude such external aiding unless extraordinary efforts are undertaken to provide a down-hole equivalent of GPS in the form of a USBL or SBL array. In general, for truly autonomous navigation over long baseline distances one cannot assume that such aids will exist or that their validity will only exist within refined zones of operation. One approach that is being undertaken for the NASA Europa lander third stage AUV is that of 3D-SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) as the primary navigation driver. We discuss the current implementation of this in the DEPTHX vehicle. Proximity operations (proxops) and the relevant control law implementation for DEPTHX is also discussed.
BibTeX
@conference{Stone-2006-9679,author = {William Stone and Nathaniel Fairfield and George A. Kantor},
title = {Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Navigation and Proximity Operations for Deep Phreatic Thermal Explorer (DEPTHX)},
booktitle = {Proceedings of Masterclass in AUV Technology for Polar Science},
year = {2006},
month = {March},
editor = {Griffiths, G. and Collins, K.},
publisher = {Society for Underwater Technology},
address = {London},
keywords = {auv, navigation, slam},
}