Design of artificial landmarks for underwater simultaneous localisation and mapping. Issue 1 (1st January 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pailhas, Yan; Capus, Chris; Brown, Keith; Petillot, Yvan
• Is Part Of: IET radar, sonar & navigation. Volume 7:Issue 1(2013)
• Page Start: 10
• Page End: 18
• Publication Date: 2013-01-01
• Subjects: navigation -- sensors -- sonar -- underwater vehicles; passive landmarks -- echo spectrum -- multilayer concentric sphere -- acoustic propagation -- navigation -- passive artificial coded landmarks -- broadband sonar -- vehicle position -- accurate landmark recognition -- inertial navigation sensors -- Doppler velocity log -- accelerometer -- position sensors -- cumulative error -- autonomous underwater vehicles -- underwater simultaneous mapping -- underwater simultaneous localisation -- artificial landmarks design; Signal processing -- Periodicals; Radar -- Periodicals; Sonar -- Periodicals; Electronics in navigation -- Periodicals; Navigation -- Periodicals; 621.3848
• DOI: 10.1049/iet-rsn.2011.0103
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1751-8784

Abstract

Abstract : The use of autonomous underwater vehicles for a variety of purposes is set to increase in the future. A key issue is accurate navigation, especially for survey applications large cumulative error are introduced by the various position sensors: accelerometer; Doppler velocity log; compass; inertial navigation sensors. Algorithms such as simultaneous localisation and mapping rely on accurate landmark recognition in order to correct the vehicle position. This study proposes a solution based on broadband sonar and passive artificial coded landmarks to improve the navigation. Through resolution of the wave equation for acoustic propagation in a multilayer concentric sphere, it is shown that there is a great diversity in the echo spectrum with only small changes in internal structure. This enables the design of a set of passive landmarks, which can be identified unambiguously, since each has a characteristic signature or spectral code when insonified with a broadband sonar.