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Advances in Underwater Robot Vehicles for Deep Ocean Exploration: Navigation, Control, and Survey Operations

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Robotics Research

Abstract

This paper reports recent advances and open problems in navigation, control, and survey methodologies for underwater robotic vehicles. First, the technical challenges of underwater navigation are discussed. Second, an acoustic navigation system combining bottom-lock doppler sonar and time-of-flight long-baseline (LBL) navigation techniques, recently reported by the Authors, is reviewed. The performance of this system is examined in the context of recent deep-submergence operations with the Jason underwater robot. Third, principal theoretical and practical obstacles to the task of acoustic and optical undersea survey operations are reviewed. These issues are illustrated with acoustic bathymetric and optical photomosaic surveys performed by the authors during two recent deployments in the Mediterranean Sea.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, USA

    Louis Whitcomb

  2. Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA

    Dana R. Yoerger, Hanumant Singh & Jonathan Howland

Authors
  1. Louis Whitcomb
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  2. Dana R. Yoerger
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  3. Hanumant Singh
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  4. Jonathan Howland
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Computer Science Department, University of Utah, 50 S. Central Campus Drive, Rm 3190, 84112, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    John M. Hollerbach

  2. Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, University of Michigan, 1101 Beal Avenue, 48109-2110, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Daniel E. Koditschek

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© 2000 Springer-Verlag London

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Whitcomb, L., Yoerger, D.R., Singh, H., Howland, J. (2000). Advances in Underwater Robot Vehicles for Deep Ocean Exploration: Navigation, Control, and Survey Operations. In: Hollerbach, J.M., Koditschek, D.E. (eds) Robotics Research. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0765-1_53

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0765-1_53

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-1254-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-0765-1

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