Assessment of the possibility of underwater navigation support for autonomous underwater vehicles at long ranges

Abstract

This work is devoted to the consideration of general principles for building a network of reference beacons, the solution of the AUV observation problem, and the estimation of the error in determining the underwater vehicle coordinates at long distances. The report presents the results of processing the data from experiments performed in the water area of the Sea of Japan. Field experiments were conducted in conditions with a pronounced temporal and Doppler hydroacoustic signal energy dissipation with a distance of up to 350 km and the speed of the signal receiver movement of up to 4 knots. The obtained data allow us to formulate general principles for the technology of constructing a network of hydroacoustic signal reference sources to solve the problem of observing underwater moving objects over a long distance and to propose the concept of creating a global underwater navigation system. Scientifically grounded and experimentally researched technical solutions for creating fundamentally new elements of an AUV long-range navigation system will significantly increase the period of autonomy, the accuracy of performing survey and exploration works and monitoring the coastal zone by underwater mobile objects.