Maritime Unmanned Systems and JANUS in Support to Distressed Submarine Search & Rescue: The REPMUS21 Experience

Abstract

Currently, communications during submarine rescue operations are performed solely with the analogue underwater telephone and the usage of phonetic codes (Alpha to Zulu), requiring the presence of human operators. This work explores innovative concepts that make use of a cooperative network of Maritime Unmanned Systems (MUS) and digital underwater communications to: 1) support the search and localization of a submarine in distress (DISSUB); 2) promptly exchange relevant information among the unmanned systems, the DISSUB and the rescue teams, with special attention to the employment of standardized solutions, such as STANAG 4748 (JANUS) and machine-to-machine services; and 3) share a common tactical picture among the rescue teams, with real-time updates. These concepts were successfully demonstrated during the Robotics Experimentation and Prototyping MUS (REPMUS) Exercise (Portugal, September 2021). The achievements of REPMUS21 clearly show how digital underwater communications and a network of cooperative MUS can be effectively used to improve the response time and increase the situational awareness of the DISSUB and rescue teams, thus resulting in more effective rescue operations.