Multi-Modal Local Sensing and Communication for Collective Underwater Systems

TL;DR

This paper explores how combining various local sensing and communication methods enhances cooperation among autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in networked and swarm configurations, supported by experiments and platform descriptions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel combination of modal and sub-modal communication techniques for improved robot-robot and robot-object interaction underwater.

Findings

Effective combinations of signaling approaches identified

Enhanced cooperation demonstrated among AUVs

Experimental validation supports proposed methods

Abstract

This paper is devoted to local sensing and communication for collective underwater systems used in networked and swarm modes. It is demonstrated that a specific combination of modal and sub-modal communication, used simultaneously for robot-robot and robot-object detection, can create a dedicated cooperation between multiple AUVs. These technologies, platforms and experiments are shortly described, and allow us to make a conclusion about useful combinations of different signaling approaches for collective underwater systems.