Drone carrier: An integrated unmanned surface vehicle for autonomous inspection and intervention in GNSS-denied maritime environment

Abstract

GNSS denial and interference increasingly challenge maritime robotics. While heterogeneous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) teams are promising for inspection and intervention, open-sea non-cooperative docking and reliable deck landing on a moving platform remain difficult. This work addresses that gap with a fully electric, modular USV-based drone carrier that autonomously approaches, docks to, and services target vessels without Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The system integrates on-shore camera handover, onboard gimbaled vision and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), Ultra-Wide Band (UWB)+Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) localization, Quick Response (QR)-based terminal landing, and a thrust-vectoring docking controller within a unified Robot Operating System (ROS) architecture. In sea-state-3 trials, the carrier achieved offshore handover at $\approx$  200 m (3 km standoff), onboard vision lock to $\approx$  500 m, LiDAR modeling within 200 m, non-cooperative docking with $\le$1 m error, and QR-assisted deck landings with $\approx$  20 cm accuracy. These results demonstrate robust closed-loop operation under GNSS denial and delineate the present envelope (rigid deck edge; sea state $\le$3), informing deployment for port security and offshore rescue and guiding future extensions to higher sea states and broader target geometries.