Three-dimensional path-planning for a communications and navigation aid working cooperatively with autonomous underwater vehicles

  • Authors:

  • Mae L. Seto;Jonathan A. Hudson;Yajun Pan

  • Affiliations:

  • Defence R&D Canada, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada;Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada;Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

  • Venue:
  • AIS'11 Proceedings of the Second international conference on Autonomous and intelligent systems
  • Year:
  • 2011

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.00

Visualization

Abstract

Simulations for optimized path-planning of an autonomous communication and navigation aid (CNA) working cooperatively with submerged autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in mine hunting surveys are presented. Previous work largely ignores optimizing the CNA path. Since AUVs in mine hunting missions maintain constant altitude this more general, and optimized, path-planner allows for variable vertical separations between the CNA and the survey AUVs. The path-planner also allows the CNA to be an AUV, not just a surface craft. The ability of the CNA to calculate on-line the cost of a heading decision L time steps into the future reduces the survey AUVs' position errors. Increase computation effort from such 'look-ahead' is offset by imposed maximum and minimum distances between the CNA and each survey AUV. The distance penalty also decreases computation effort and bounds the AUV position errors. An optimized CNA path-planner so described has not been previously reported.