On the Use of Adaptive/Integral Actions for Six-Degrees-of-Freedom Control of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

In this paper, the control of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in six-degrees-of-freedom (6-DOFs) is analyzed in a comparison study among several controllers. At steady state, the vehicle needs to compensate for two dynamic effects, the ocean current and the restoring forces; the appropriateness of the adaptive/integral action designed with respect to the persistent effects is discussed. Moreover, for each controller, an adaptive/integral proportional derivative (PD) plus gravity compensation-like version is derived and eventually modified so as to achieve null steady-state error under modeling uncertainty and presence of ocean current. Numerical simulations are presented to better illustrate the controllers' behavior.     

Absolute positioning of an autonomous underwater vehicle using GPS and acoustic measurements

Kinematic global positioning system (GPS) positioning and underwater acoustic ranging can combine to locate an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) with an accuracy of /spl plusmn/30cm (2-/spl sigma/) in the global International Terrestrial Reference Frame 2000 (ITRF2000). An array of three precision transponders, separated by approximately 700 m, was established on the seafloor in 300-m-deep waters off San Diego. Each transponder's horizontal position was determined with an accuracy of /spl plusmn/8 cm (2-/spl sigma/) by measuring two-way travel times with microsecond resolution between transponders and a shipboard transducer, positioned to /spl plusmn/10 cm (2-/spl sigma/) in ITRF2000 coordinates with GPS, as the ship circled each seafloor unit. Travel times measured from AUV to ship and from AUV to transponders to ship were differenced and combined with AUV depth from a pressure gauge to estimate ITRF2000 positions of the AUV to /spl plusmn/1 m (2-/spl sigma/). Simulations show that /spl plusmn/30 cm (2-/spl sigma/) absolute positioning of the AUV can be realized by replacing the time-difference approach with directly measured two-way travel times between AUV and seafloor transponders. Submeter absolute positioning of underwater vehicles in water depths up to several thousand meters is practical. The limiting factor is knowledge of near-surface sound speed which degrades the precision to which transponders can be located in the ITRF2000 frame.     

Transformed equations of motion for underwater vehicles

A method for dynamics investigation and coupling detection between velocities of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) is presented in this paper. The method is based on transformation of equations of motion, which are usually used for an underwater vehicle, into equations with a diagonal mass matrix. The obtained equations contain quasi-velocities and allow one to give a further insight into the AUV dynamics especially for an underactuated system. Some advantages of the proposed approach are discussed, too. An analytical example for a 3-DOF AUV shows possible application of the transformed equations. Moreover, the given approach is validated via simulation on a 6-DOF vehicle.     

A Cascade Approach for Global Trajectory Tracking Control of Underactuated AUVs

A global trajectory tracking controller is presented for underactuated AUVs with only surge force and yaw moment in the horizontal plane. A transformation is introduced to represent the tracking error system into a cascade form. The global and uniform asymptotic stabilization problem of the resulting cascade system is reduced to the stabilization problem of two subsystems by use of the cascade approach. For the stabilization of the subsystem involving the yaw moment, a control law is proposed based on the feedback linearization method. Another subsystem is stabilized by designing a fuzzy sliding mode controller which can offer a systematical means of constructing a set of shrinking-span and dilating-span membership functions. In order to demonstrate the practicability of the proposed controller, control constraints, parameter uncertainties, and external disturbances are considered according to practical situation of AUVs. Simulation results show very good tracking performance and robustness of the proposed control schemes.     

Rapid geoacoustic characterization: applied to range-dependent environments

The problem of rapid environmental assessment in a range-dependent environment is addressed. For rapid assessment, the exact geoacoustic parameters are not required, nor is it a requirement that the exact structure of the acoustic field (location of peaks and s) be matched by an acoustic prediction model. The parameters that are relevant are the overall transmission loss (incoherent TL), the time spread (/spl tau/), and the slopes of the range/frequency interference patterns (/spl beta/, the waveguide invariant). The rapid geoacoustic characterization algorithm uses a homogeneous single-sediment layer overlying a hard acoustic basement model to optimally match the predicted acoustic observables with those estimated from data. The approach is presented here and is applied to the range-dependent benchmark cases TC1 and TC2 from the Inversion Techniques Workshop held in Gulfport, MS, in May 2001. The technique successfully reproduces the acoustic observables and estimates the sediment sound-speed, density, and attenuation profiles, as well as the sediment thickness.     

Attitude Coordination of Multi-HUG Formation Based on Multibody System Theory

Application of multiple hybrid underwater gliders (HUGs) is a promising method for large scale, long-term ocean survey. Attitude coordination has become a requisite for task execution of multi-HUG formation. In this paper, a multibody model is presented for attitude coordination among agents in the HUG formation. The HUG formation is regarded as a multi-rigid body system. The interaction between agents in the formation is described by artificial potential field (APF) approach. Attitude control torque is composed of a conservative torque generated by orientation potential field and a dissipative term related with angular velocity. Dynamic modeling of the multibody system is presented to analyze the dynamic process of the HUG formation. Numerical calculation is carried out to simulate attitude synchronization with two kinds of formation topologies. Results show that attitude synchronization can be fulfilled based on the multibody method described in this paper. It is also indicated that different topologies affect attitude control quality with respect to energy consumption and adjusting time. Low level topology should be adopted during formation control scheme design to achieve a better control effect.     

Design and implementation of time efficient trajectories for autonomous underwater vehicles

This paper discusses control strategies adapted for practical implementation and efficient motion of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). For AUVs we would like efficiency in both the measured time and the energy consumption, the mission dictating the weight to put on each of these cost. As a first approach to this problem, we focus in this paper on time minimization. Based on the structure of the time optimal trajectories and of the pure motions, we develop an algorithm to design time efficient trajectories corresponding to piecewise constant thrust arcs with few actuator switchings. We do that by solving a new optimization problem where the unknowns are the time period between two actuator switchings as well as the values of the constant thrust arcs. We apply a direct method to compute the solutions numerically. With our algorithm, we gain considerable computational time. Moreover, with as few as three actuator switchings, the duration of our trajectories is within 10% of the optimal trajectories. Since our control strategies have a simple structure they can be implemented on a test-bed vehicle. For the experiments displayed in this paper we use a spherical underwater vehicle which exhibits with almost no preference of direction or orientation for movement; this gives us a very controllable and versatile vehicle.     

Porometric properties of siliciclastic marine sand: a comparison of traditional laboratory measurements with image analysis and effective medium modeling

During the 1999 sediment acoustics experiment (SAX99), porometric properties were measured and predicted for a well sorted, medium sand using standard laboratory geotechnical methods and image analysis of resin-impregnated sediments. Sediment porosity measured by laboratory water-weight-loss methods (0.372 /spl plusmn/ 0.0073 for mean /spl plusmn/1 standard deviation) is 0.026 lower than determined by microscopic image analysis of resin-impregnated sediments (0.398 /spl plusmn/ 0.029). Values of intrinsic permeability (m/sup 2/) determined from constant-head permeameter measurements (3.29 /spl times/ 10/sup -11/ /spl plusmn/ 0.60 /spl times/ 10/sup -11/) and by microscopic image analysis coupled with effective medium theory modeling (2.78 /spl times/ 10/sup -11/ /spl plusmn/ 1.01 /spl times/ 10/sup -11/) are nearly identical within measurement error. The mean value of tortuosity factor measured from images is 1.49 /spl plusmn/ 0.09, which is in agreement with tortuosity factor determined from electrical resistivity measurements. Slight heterogeneity and anisotropy are apparent in the top three centimeters of sediment as determined by image-based porometric property measurements. However, the overall similarity for both measured and predicted values of porosity and permeability among and within SAX99 sites indicates sediments are primarily homogeneous and isotropic and pore size distributions are fairly uniform. The results indicate that an effective medium theory technique and two-dimensional image analysis accurately predicts bulk permeability in resin-impregnated sands.     

Segmentation methods for visual tracking of deep-ocean jellyfish using a conventional camera

This paper presents a vision algorithm that enables automated jellyfish tracking using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) or autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). The discussion focuses on algorithm design. The introduction provides a novel performance-assessment tool, called segmentation efficiency, which aids in matching potential vision algorithms to the jelly-tracking task. This general-purpose tool evaluates the inherent applicability of various algorithms to particular tracking applications. This tool is applied to the problem of tracking transparent jellyfish under uneven time-varying illumination in particle-filled scenes. The result is the selection of a fixed-gradient threshold-based vision algorithm. This approach, implemented as part of a pilot aid for the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's ROV Ventana, has demonstrated automated jelly tracking for as long as 89 min.     

Dynamic measurement of sediment grain compressibility at atmospheric pressure: acoustic applications

Under certain conditions, Wood's equation can be used to predict sound speed in fluid/solid-grain suspensions if the bulk moduli and densities of the grains and fluid are known. In this paper, that relationship is used to estimate grain-bulk moduli in suspensions where sound speed, fluid density, fluid bulk modulus, grain density, and particle concentrations are known or accurately measured. Measured values of grain-bulk moduli for polystyrene beads suspended in water (mean = 4.15 /spl times/ 10/sup 9/ Pa) and soda-lime glass beads suspended in a "heavy liquid" (mean = 3.8 /spl times/ 10/sup 10/ Pa) are consistent with the values of bulk moduli for polystyrene beads and soda-lime glass beads found in the literature (3.6 to 4.2 /spl times/ 10/sup 9/ Pa and 3.4 to 4.0 /spl times/ 10/sup 10/ Pa, respectively). These measurements thus provide controls, which demonstrate the validity of the suspension technique to estimate values of particle bulk modulus. The values of bulk modulus, measured using the same suspension techniques, for Ottawa sand and quartz sand grains collected from the coastal sediments of the northeast Gulf of Mexico ranged between 3.8 and 4.7 /spl times/ 10/sup 10/ Pa, with 95% confidence limits between 3.0-5.7 /spl times/ 10/sup 10/ Pa. These measured values of bulk modulus are consistent with the range of handbook values for polycrystalline quartz (3.6 to 4.0 /spl times/ 10/sup 10/ Pa). The use of the lower bulk modulus (i.e., 7.0 /spl times/ 10/sup 9/ Pa) recently suggested by Chotiros is therefore inappropriate and traditional handbook values of sediment grain-bulk moduli should be used as inputs for sediment acoustic modeling.     

Bistatic synthetic aperture imaging of proud and buried targets from an AUV

The use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for the detection of buried mines is an area of current interest to the Mine CounterMeasures (MCM) community. AUVs offer the advantages of lower cost, stealth, reduced operator risk, and potentially improved coverage rates over more traditional mine hunters. However, AUVs also come with their own set of difficulties, including significant error in navigation and low communication rates with the mother platform and each other. In the case of bistatic detection scenarios, AUVs will therefore have difficulty knowing where exactly in space they are and the trigger time of sources on other platforms, be they ships or other AUVs. However, the potential improvement in detection and coverage rates offered by bistatic sonar concepts makes resolution of these issues a high priority. In this paper, the problems of inaccurate navigation and source timing information are addressed for the Generic Oceanographic Array Technology data set. In this experiment, conducted off Marciana Marina during June 1998, a MIT AUV with a SACLANTCEN acoustic array and acquisition system was used together with a TOPAS parametric sonar to explore issues of buried target detection using AUVs. In this paper, solutions to the navigation and timing problems are proposed which enable the effective use of bistatic synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) concepts for the detection of buried objects in the mid-frequency regime of 2-20 kHz.     

Localization of autonomous underwater vehicles by floating acoustic buoys: a set-membership approach

This paper addresses localization of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) from acoustic time-of-flight measurements received by a field of surface floating buoys. It is assumed that measurements are corrupted by unknown-but-bounded errors, with known bounds. The localization problem is tackled in a set-membership framework and an algorithm is presented, which produces as output the set of admissible AUV positions in a three-dimensional (3-D) space. The algorithm is tailored for a shallow water situation (water depth less than 500 m), and accounts for realistic variations of the sound speed profile in sea water. The approach is validated by simulations in which uncertainty models have been obtained from field data at sea. Localization performance of the algorithm are shown comparable with those previously reported in the literature by other approaches who assume knowledge of the statistics of measurement uncertainties. Moreover, guaranteed uncertainty regions associated to nominal position estimates are provided. The proposed algorithms can be used as a viable alternative to more traditional approaches in realistic at-sea conditions.     

Investigation of the resistance characteristics of a multi-AUV system

The multiple autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) sailing in a specific configuration can reduce resistance if properly using the hydrodynamic interactions. This paper investigated the resistance characteristics of a multi-AUV system with both experimental and numerical approaches. A center-beam-support bar structure was designed to conduct the experiment. Validation of our numerical method was carried out by comparing with the experimental data. Parametric studies were then performed on the distance, the speed and the number of AUVs. The numerical results showed that SST-transition model is more suitable for simulating the multi-AUV system at Reynolds numbers (Re) ranging from 2.46 × 10⁶ to 6.69 × 10⁶. At Re = 6.14 × 10⁶, the largest reduction of resistance can be 35.14% at d/L = 0. In the meantime, there appears some undesirable interference area between d/L = 0.042 and d/L = 0.063 where the total resistance of the fleet increases sharply. Apart from that, higher reduction of resistance can be expected with the increase of the speed and the number of AUVs.     

Acoustic Theory Application in Ultra Short Baseline System for Tracking AUV

The effective tracking area of ultra short baseline (USBL) systems strongly relates to the safety of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). This problem has not been studied previously. A method for determining the effective tracking area using acoustic theory is proposed. Ray acoustic equations are used to draw rays, which ascertain the effective space. The sonar equation is established in order to discover the available range of the USBL system and the background noise level using sonar characteristics. The available range defines a hemisphere like enclosure. The overlap of the effective space with the hemisphere is the effective area for USBL systems tracking AUVs. Lake and sea trials show the proposed method's validity.     

Power systems for autonomous underwater vehicles

In this paper, we examine the issues involved in designing battery systems and power-transfer (charging) techniques for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) operating within an Autonomous Ocean Sampling Network (AOSN). We focus on three different aspects of the problem, battery chemistry, pack management and in situ charging. We look at a number of choices for battery chemistry and evaluate these based on the requirements of maximizing power density and low temperature operation particular to AUVs. We look at the issues involved in combining individual cells into large battery packs and at the problems associated with battery monitoring, and the charging and discharging of packs in a typical AUV application. Finally, we present a methodology for charging an AUV battery pack in situ in support of long term deployments at remote sites     

Submarine bars on sandy coasts

A brief review of the studies concerning the problem of submarine bars over the past decade is presented. Various types of bars are distinguished, and the mechanisms responsible for the formation thereof are discussed. The short-term (days, weeks) behavior of the bars is described in relation to the changes in the local wave parameters. The bar systems are shown to demonstrate cyclic behavior of two different types on time scales of years and decades. In the former case, the bars arise near the shore, migrate towards the sea, and degrade in the external margin of the coastal zone. The other cycle’s type is characterized by the landward migration of the bars and their welding with a subaerial beach, which results in creating a conveyor delivering material to the beach and eventually to the foredune by Aeolian transport. In the former case, the bar zone behaves as a closed system, while, in the latter, as a transition zone. It is noted that the long-term evolution of a bar system is controlled by a feedback mechanism tending to return the system to the initial state.     

水下自主机器人水动力预报方法研究

针对水下机器人操纵性优化设计中水动力系数预报问题,在水下机器人水动力预报中引入艇体肥瘦指数概念,确定了水下机器人艇体几何描述的五参数模型。提出采用小波神经网络方法预报水下机器人水动力,确定了神经网络的结构,利用均匀试验设计方法,设计了神经网络的学习样本。研究结果表明,只要确定适当的输入参数,选择适当的学习样本和网络结构,利用小波神经网络方法对水下机器人水动力进行预报可以达到较好的精度。     

Isolation of resonance in acoustic backscatter from elastic targetsusing adaptive estimation schemes

It has been shown that at certain frequencies the acoustic backscatter from elastic targets exhibits certain resonance behavior which closely relates to the physical properties of the target such as dimension, thickness, and composition. The purpose of this paper is to develop an automated approach for identifying the presence of resonance in the acoustic backscatter from an unknown underwater target by isolating the resonance part from the specular contribution. An adaptive transversal filter structure is used to estimate the specular part of the backscatter and consequently the error signal would provide an estimate of the resonance part. An important aspect of this scheme lies in the fact that it does not require an underlying model for the elastic return. The adaptation rule is based upon fast recursive least squares (RLS) learning. The approach taken in this paper is general in the sense that it can be applied to targets of unknown geometry and thickness and, further, does not require any a priori information about the target and/or the environment. Test results on acoustic data are presented which indicate the effectiveness of the proposed approach     

Internal wave characteristics at the ASIAEX site in the east China Sea

The characteristics of internal waves (IWs) observed during the Asian Sea International Acoustics Experiment 2001 in the East China Sea are presented in this paper. Temperature data from a 17-element thermistor chain exhibit clear IW features in shallow water. Large-amplitude oscillations, up to 35 m, are noted due to the semi-diurnal internal tides. High-frequency (HF) and narrow-bandwidth IW trains around 6 c/h ride on semi-diurnal IWs. The spectrum of vertical displacement of the IWs, calculated from the thermistor chain data, falls as /spl omega//sup -1.6/ in the frequency band of 0.1-4 c/h. For higher frequencies (>6 c/h), the spectrum falls as /spl omega//sup -3.0/. Vertical coherence of the IWs for both semi-diurnal internal tides and HF IWs is analyzed. Comparisons of our observations with other data, obtained from SWARM95, the Barents Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico, display some common characteristics of shallow-water IWs.     

Range localization of 10-100 km explosions by means of an endfire array and a waveguide Invariant

Short acoustical signals like those caused by explosions will in a waveguide split into mode arrivals. If the distance is long enough, they can at the receiver be resolved in time with appropriate narrowband filters. They can simultaneously be resolved in vertical angle (incidence-) with an endfire array and a beamformer. Combined in a beam-time diagram the arrivals will line up along a straight line. The slope of this line is invariant with frequency, mode indexes, source and receiver depths. It can conveniently be linked to the so-called waveguide invariant /spl beta/. An alternative approach to /spl beta/ is to compute it from the bathymetric profile. This is valid for range variable waveguides under adiabatic conditions, constant water sound speed over a harder bottom, and small grazing angles. Together these two approaches to /spl beta/ can be combined in a formula, where direct range determination is the end product. The applicability of the method is demonstrated on data from an experiment at sea. An 820-m array with 10 hydrophones was deployed at the bottom in 320-m water depth. For two endfire runs in opposite directions, small explosive charges out to 115 km were used as sound sources. Typical range estimation errors were 5-10%.