Low cost underwater acoustic localization

TL;DR

This paper introduces a low-cost underwater acoustic localization system using surface buoys and underwater nodes, improving deep-sea vehicle positioning accuracy and enabling broader ocean exploration.

Contribution

It proposes a novel low-cost one-way travel time acoustic localization system with physical implementation details and simulation results demonstrating significant error reduction.

Findings

Error reduced by a factor of three in simulations

System suitable for deep-sea micro AUVs

Physical implementation details provided

Abstract

Over the course of the last decade, the cost of marine robotic platforms has significantly decreased. In part this has lowered the barriers to entry of exploring and monitoring larger areas of the earth's oceans. However, these advances have been mostly focused on autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) or shallow water autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). One of the main drivers for high cost in the deep water domain is the challenge of localizing such vehicles using acoustics. A low cost one-way travel time underwater ranging system is proposed to assist in localizing deep water submersibles. The system consists of location aware anchor buoys at the surface and underwater nodes. This paper presents a comparison of methods together with details on the physical implementation to allow its integration into a deep sea micro AUV currently in development. Additional simulation results show error reductions by a factor of three.