Closed‐loop one‐way‐travel‐time navigation using low‐grade odometry for autonomous underwater vehicles

This paper extends the progress of single beacon one‐way‐travel‐time (OWTT) range measurements for constraining XY position for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV). Traditional navigation algorithms have used OWTT measurements to constrain an inertial navigation system aided by a Doppler Velocity Log (DVL). These methodologies limit AUV applications to where DVL bottom‐lock is available as well as the necessity for expensive strap‐down sensors, such as the DVL. Thus, deep water, mid‐water column research has mostly been left untouched, and vehicles that need expensive strap‐down sensors restrict the possibility of using multiple AUVs to explore a certain area. This work presents a solution for accurate navigation and localization using a vehicle's odometry determined by its dynamic model velocity and constrained by OWTT range measurements from a topside source beacon as well as other AUVs operating in proximity. We present a comparison of two navigation algorithms: an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) and a Particle Filter(PF). Both of these algorithms also incorporate a water velocity bias estimator that further enhances the navigation accuracy and localization. Closed‐loop online field results on local waters as well as a real‐time implementation of two days field trials operating in Monterey Bay, California during the Keck Institute for Space Studies oceanographic research project prove the accuracy of this methodology with a root mean square error on the order of tens of meters compared to GPS position over a distance traveled of multiple kilometers.     

Field Testing of Moving Short‐baseline Navigation for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles using Synchronized Acoustic Messaging

This paper presents the results from field testing of a unique approach to the navigation of a fleet of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) using only onboard sensors and information provided by a moving surface ship. The approach, considered moving short‐baseline (MSBL) navigation, uses two transponders mounted on a single surface ship that alternately broadcast acoustic messages containing one of the parameters of the kinematic state of the surface ship. The broadcasts are initiated according to a predefined schedule so that the one‐way travel time (OWTT) of the acoustic messages may be used to determine the range to the transponder. Each AUV in the fleet uses the surface ship state measurements and ranges provided by the acoustic messages in two extended Kalman filters (EKFs) for state estimation. The first EKF merges the intermittent surface ship state measurements with a kinematic model to estimate the state of the surface ship. This is necessary because the presented approach uses 13‐bit acoustic messages as opposed to the more commonly used 32‐byte messages, which allow the full state to be encoded in a single broadcast. The second EKF uses the current surface ship state estimate to properly interpret the acoustic ranges, combining them with a kinematic model to estimate the state of the AUV itself. Numerous MSBL navigation experiments were compared against a more traditional approach using a long‐baseline (LBL) array of transponders and OWTT acoustic ranging. The results of all tests were verified by independent LBL measures of position.     

Typhoon at CommsNet13: Experimental experience on AUV navigation and localization

This paper presents two acoustic-based techniques for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) navigation within an underwater network of fixed sensors. The proposed algorithms exploit the positioning measurements provided by an Ultra-Short Base Line (USBL) transducer on-board the vehicle to aid the navigation task. In the considered framework the acoustic measurements are embedded in the communication network scheme, causing time-varying delays in ranging with the fixed nodes. The results presented are obtained with post-processing elaborations of the raw experimental data collected during the CommsNet13 campaign, organized and scientifically led by the NATO Science and Technology Organization Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE). The experiment involved several research institutions and included among its objectives the evaluation of on-board acoustic USBL systems for navigation and localization of AUVs. The ISME groups of the Universities of Florence and Pisa jointly participated to the experiment with one Typhoon class vehicle. This is a 300 m depth rated AUV with acoustic communication capabilities originally developed by the two groups for archaeological search in the framework of the THESAURUS project. The CommsNet13 Typhoon, equipped with an acoustic modem/USBL head, navigated within the fixed nodes acoustic network deployed by CMRE. This allows the comparison between inertial navigation, acoustic self-localization and ground truth represented by GPS signals (when the vehicle was at the surface).     

一种考虑洋流影响的AUV组合导航算法

针对由捷联惯导(SINS)、多普勒测速仪(DVL)以及深度传感器组成的自主水下航行器(AUV)组合导航系统,当DVL测量距离无法达到海底的情况下,洋流是该系统主要误差源之一的问题,在SINS/DVL组合导航算法的基础上,提出了一种在原算法中加入洋流信息提高系统导航定位精度的方法,并将以上两种导航算法解算出的AUV位置信息进行仿真对比,仿真结果表明:与未考虑洋流信息的算法相比,加入洋流信息的算法能够有效提高AUV的定位精度。     

Adaptive tuning of a Kalman filter via fuzzy logic for an intelligent AUV navigation system

This paper describes the implementation of an intelligent navigation system, based on the integrated use of the global positioning system (GPS) and several inertial navigation system (INS) sensors, for autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) applications. A simple Kalman filter (SKF) and an extended Kalman filter (EKF) are proposed to be used subsequently to fuse the data from the INS sensors and to integrate them with the GPS data. The paper highlights the use of fuzzy logic techniques to the adaptation of the initial statistical assumption of both the SKF and EKF caused by possible changes in sensor noise characteristics. This adaptive mechanism is considered to be necessary as the SKF and EKF can only maintain their stability and performance when the algorithms contain the true sensor noise characteristics. In addition, fault detection and signal recovery algorithms during the fusion process to enhance the reliability of the navigation systems are also discussed herein. The proposed algorithms are implemented to real experimental data obtained from a series of AUV trials conducted by running the low-cost Hammerhead AUV, developed by the University of Plymouth and Cranfield University.     

Optimal Guidance for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Navigation within Undersea Areas of Current Disturbances

Simulated navigations of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) achieved by the minimum time guidance within undersea areas of current disturbances are presented. When an AUV has to transit to a given destination within an area of current disturbance, ingenious guidance enables the minimum time navigation. In this study, a numerical solution procedure for an optimal heading guidance law is developed. As the optimal heading reference, the solution of the optimal guidance law is fed to the heading controller. Simulated optimal navigations are realized on the basis of the dynamics of an AUV 'r2D4'. The r2D4 is a deep-ocean-exploring AUV, developed by the Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo. The developed procedure never fails to derive the optimal heading sequence within a finite computational time, provided that the current velocity in the navigation region is known a priori. As a fail-safe strategy in achieving the optimal navigation, the concept of quasi-optimal navigation is presented. The quasi-optimal navigation is implemented by on-site updates of optimal guidances followed by the heading tracking control.     

Cooperative localization of a team of AUVs by a tetrahedral configuration

This paper investigates the principles of a Cooperative Localization Algorithm for a team of at least three Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) with respect to a surface support ship, without the use of Ultra-Short Baseline (USBL). It is assumed that each AUV is equipped with a low-cost Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), a compass and a depth sensor, but only one of them has a high accuracy navigation sensor such as the Doppler Velocity Log (DVL). The surface boat locates itself by means of Global Positioning System (GPS). Range measurements provided by acoustic modems allow to avoid an unbounded error growth in the position estimate of each AUV. A geometric method, based on a tetrahedral configuration to obtain a deterministic fix for position, is proposed. This method allows to extend the advantages of the use of the DVL to the position estimate of other vehicles not equipped with DVL. The paper addresses also some of the problems related to the limitations of acoustic communication. The algorithm has been implemented and tested in simulations for a fleet of three AUVs and a surface support ship.     

基于SINS/GPS/DVL组合导航定位半实物仿真系统研究

为了满足水下航行远航程和长时间的要求,远航程自主水下航行器(AUV)采用以SINS导航为主、DVL导航为辅、卫星导航定期修正的方式来提高导航的精度和可靠性;文中研究了一种采用惯性测量器件(IMU)、GPS卫星定位导航模拟器、GPS接收机、多普勒测速仪仿真装置、ADI/RTS仿真工作站和水压模拟器构成的采用SINS/GPS/DVL组合导航方式的AUV导航半实物仿真系统,并进行了全航程仿真实验;仿真试验的结果表明,所设计的半实物仿真系统方案可行,可用于更高置信度的AUV组合导航仿真实验。     

Merits and limitations of using fuzzy inference system for temporal integration of INS/GPS in vehicular navigation

Most of the present vehicular navigation systems rely on global positioning system (GPS) combined with inertial navigation system (INS) for reliable determination of the vehicle position and heading. Integrating both systems provide several advantages and eliminate their individual shortcomings. Kalman filter (KF) has been widely used to fuse data from both systems. However, KF-based integration techniques suffer from several limitations related to its immunity to noise, observability and the necessity of accurate stochastic models of sensor random errors. This article investigates the potential use of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) for temporal integration of INS/GPS in vehicular navigation. An ANFIS-based module named “P–δP” is designed, developed, implemented and tested for fusing INS and GPS position information. The fusion process aims at providing continuous correction of INS position to prevent its long-term growth using GPS position updates. In addition, it provides reliable prediction of the vehicle position during GPS outages. The P–δP module was examined using real navigation system data compromising an Ashtech Z12 GPS receiver and a Honeywell LRF-III INS. The proposed module proved to be successful as a modeless and platform independent module that does not require a priori knowledge of the navigation equipment utilized. Limitations of the ANFIS module are also discussed.     

Toward Autonomous Exploration in Confined Underwater Environments

In this field note, we detail the operations and discuss the results of an experiment conducted in the unstructured environment of an underwater cave complex using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). For this experiment, the AUV was equipped with two acoustic sonar sensors to simultaneously map the caves' horizontal and vertical surfaces. Although the caves' spatial complexity required AUV guidance by a diver, this field deployment successfully demonstrates a scan‐matching algorithm in a simultaneous localization and mapping framework that significantly reduces and bounds the localization error for fully autonomous navigation. These methods are generalizable for AUV exploration in confined underwater environments where surfacing or predeployment of localization equipment is not feasible, and they may provide a useful step toward AUV utilization as a response tool in confined underwater disaster areas.     

微小型AUV模型辅助技术在惯性导航中的应用

针对微小型水下潜器在无法获得GPS信号的情况,设计了一种模型辅助的全自主惯性导航系统;由于体积和功耗的限制,本系统无法采用传统的多普勒测速仪作为外部传感器,而提出了以惯性导航系统为核心,运动模型辅助的方法;根据水下潜器的运动特性进行数学建模,与卡尔曼滤波构成回路,运动模型输出位置、速度等信息对捷联解算输出信息进行误差补偿;搭建了基于Simulink的实验仿真环境,验证了该方法的有效性,能够满足微小型AUV对于导航系统体积、成本和功耗的要求,一小时的定位误差小于500m。     

水下机器人高度信息融合与欠驱动地形跟踪控制

研究了配置高度计和多普勒速度计(DVL)的欠驱动水下机器人地形跟踪控制问题.采用Takagi-Sugeno推理方法对高度计和DVL两种传感器的高度信息进行融合,提高了高度信息感知能力.将地形跟踪分为速度控制和深度控制问题,分别使用S面控制方法设计速度控制器和反步法设计欠驱动深度控制器.最后,通过实际海洋实验对研究的方法进行了验证,实验结果表明该文提出的方法是有效的.     

Optimizing neuro-fuzzy modules for data fusion of vehicular navigation systems using temporal cross-validation

The last two decades have shown an increasing trend in the use of positioning and navigation technologies in land vehicles. Most of the present navigation systems incorporate global positioning system (GPS) and inertial navigation system (INS), which are integrated using Kalman filtering (KF) to provide reliable positioning information. Due to several inadequacies related to KF-based INS/GPS integration, artificial intelligence (AI) methods have been recently suggested to replace KF. Various neural network and neuro-fuzzy methods for INS/GPS integration were introduced. However, these methods provided relatively poor positioning accuracy during long GPS outages. Moreover, the internal system parameters had to be tuned over time of the navigation mission to reach the desired positioning accuracy. In order to overcome these limitations, this study optimizes the AI-based INS/GPS integration schemes utilizing adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) by implementing, a temporal window-based cross-validation approach during the update procedure. The ANFIS-based system considers a non-overlap moving window instead of the commonly used sliding window approach. The proposed system is tested using differential GPS and navigational grade INS field test data obtained from a land vehicle experiment. The results showed that the proposed system is a reliable modeless system and platform independent module that requires no priori knowledge of the navigation equipment utilized. In addition, significant accuracy improvement was achieved during long GPS outages.     

基于INS/GPS/COMPASS的AUV组合式导航定位算法

导航定位问题是自主式水下机器人研究(AUV)的主要内容之一,本文针对一种开架式AUV设计了一种采用间接反馈校正的捷联惯性导航与GPS、罗盘相组合的导航方案,其中采用卡尔曼滤波器接收两套导航子系统对同一导航参数输出值的差值,经过滤波计算估计出各误差量。仿真实验的结果表明,SINS/GPS/COMPASS组合导航对SINS误差随时间不断加大的现象起到了很好的抑制作用,能够满足AUV定位精度的要求。     

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENT NEURAL NETWORKS FOR GPS/INS INTEGRATION

An aircraft system mainly relies on a Global Positioning System (GPS) to provide accurate position values consistently. However, GPS receivers may encounter frequent GPS absence because of ephemeric error, satellite clock error, multipath error, and signal jamming. To overcome these drawbacks, generally a GPS is integrated with an Inertial Navigation System (INS) mounted inside the vehicle to provide a reliable navigation solution. INS and GPS are commonly integrated using a Kalman filter (KF) to provide a robust navigation solution. In the KF approach, the error models of both INS and GPS are required; this leads to the complexity of the system. This research work presents new position update architecture (NPUA) which consists of various artificial intelligence neural networks (AINN) that integrate both GPS and INS to overcome the drawbacks of the Kalman filter. The various AINNs that include both static and dynamic networks described for the system are radial basis function neural network (RBFNN), backpropagation neural network (BPN), forward-only counter propagation neural network (FCPN), full counter propagation neural network (Full CPN), adaptive resonance theory-counter propagation neural network (ART-CPN), constructive neural network (CNN), higher-order neural networks (HONN), and input-delayed neural networks (IDNN) to predict the INS position error during GPS absence, resulting in different performances. The performances of the different AINNs are analyzed in terms of root mean square error (RMSE), performance index (PI), number of epochs, and execution time (ET).     

移动USBL测距辅助的UUV协同导航定位方法

针对无人水下航行器(UUV) 导航精度受惯性导航(INS) 影响较大的问题, 本文提出一种基于无人水面船 (USV)携带超短基线(USBL)对UUV进行移动式辅助导航定位的方法. 文中以USV上高精度INS和全球导航卫星系 统(GNSS)组合后的导航结果作为基准, 利用USBL测量得到的USV和UUV相对位置和姿态信息, 结合UUV的INS误 差方程, 建立了UUV协同导航系统的状态方程和观测方程, 并基于自适应卡尔曼滤波方法对UUV状态进行滤波估 计. 仿真和湖上实验结果表明, 文中所提方法可有效提升UUV导航精度.     

自治/遥控水下机器人北极冰下导航

针对北极高纬度和科学考察中长期冰站对海冰在一定范围内连续重复观测的需求,设计了面向冰下环境的自治/遥控水下机器人(北极ARV)导航定位系统.提出基于海冰运动修正的水下机器人自主导航方法,通过定时引入海冰运动信息,实时准确获取水下机器人相对于海冰的位置信息,这不仅提高了观测数据的实际应用价值,还提高了冰下作业的安全性.仿真试验和北极冰下应用证明这一导航系统具有精度高、稳定性好等优点.     

AUV terrain-aided navigation using a Doppler velocity logger

This paper addresses the design and implementation of terrain-aided navigation (TAN) methods for small autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that rely on standard navigation sensors and dispense with the need for dedicated sensors for terrain data acquisition. The research described focuses on the problem of TAN implementation in underwater scenarios characterized by smooth sea-bottom topography and very shallow water, where the terrain information available for navigation is scarce. The navigation algorithms and the data fusion methods whose tests are documented in the paper build upon and expand prior theoretical work published by the authors; the TAN solutions adopted exploit the terrain information and the navigation data acquired with an inexpensive Doppler velocity logger (DVL) and a standard motion reference unit, respectively. The position estimation methods analyzed include a bi-dimensional particle filter (PF) and a four-dimensional Rao-Blackwellized PF that was designed to estimate the unknown Doppler velocity measurement biases responsible for the unbound localization errors typically observed in dead-recknoning navigation. The positioning accuracy achieved with these filters is compared with the output of a novel method, also proposed in the paper, that mechanizes a complementary-like filter designed to fuse the output of a TAN estimator with the velocity measurements provided by a DVL. Experimental results obtained during field tests with an autonomous marine vehicle are reported and analyzed.     

Teach‐and‐repeat path following for an autonomous underwater vehicle

This paper presents a teach‐and‐repeat path‐following method for an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) navigating long distances in environments where external navigation aides are denied. This method utilizes sonar images to construct a series of reference views along a path, stored as a topological map. The AUV can then renavigate along this path, either to return to the start location or to repeat the route. Utilizing unique assumptions about the sonar image‐generation process, this system exhibits robust image‐matching capabilities, providing observations to a discrete Bayesian filter that maintains an estimate of progress along the path. Image‐matching also provides an estimate of offset from the path, allowing the AUV to correct its heading and effectively close the gap. Over a series of field trials, this system demonstrated online control of an AUV in the ocean environment of Holyrood Arm, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The system was implemented on an International Submarine Engineering Ltd. Explorer AUV and performed multiple path completions over both a 1 and 5 km track. These trials illustrated an AUV operating in a fully autonomous mode, in which navigation was driven solely by sensor feedback and adaptive control. Path‐following performance was as desired, with the AUV maintaining close offset to the path.     

An intelligent navigator for seamless INS/GPS integrated land vehicle navigation applications

The Kalman filter (KF) has been implemented as the primary integration scheme of the global positioning system (GPS) and inertial navigation systems (INS) for many land vehicle navigation and positioning applications. However, it has been reported that KF-based techniques have certain limitations, which reflect on the position error accumulation during GPS signal outages. Therefore, this article exploits the idea of incorporating artificial neural networks to develop an alternative INS/GPS integration scheme, the intelligent navigator, for next generation land vehicle navigation and positioning applications. Real land vehicle test results demonstrated the capability of using stored navigation knowledge to provide real-time reliable positioning information for stand-alone INS-based navigation for up to 20 min with errors less than 16 m (as compared to 2.6 km in the case of the KF). For relatively short GPS outages, the KF was superior to the intelligent navigator for up to 30 s outages. In contrast, the intelligent navigator was superior to the KF when the length of GPS outages was extended to 90 s. The average improvement of the intelligent navigator reached 60% in the latter scenario. The results presented in this article strongly indicate the potential of including the intelligent navigator as the core algorithm for INS/GPS integrated land vehicle navigation systems.