This paper presents a novel combination of navigation sensors, designed to solve the problem of accurate undersea navigation, for Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs) or submarines. The system comprises a compact Inertial Navigation System (INS), coupled with an acoustic Correlation Velocity Log (CVL) The INS is used for continuous acceleration, velocity and position estimation, as well as heading and altitude, while the CVL is used to provide periodic velocity fixes so as to maintain the INS accuracy over a protracted period. The paper describes a new design for a CVL, developed for this application. The design employs novel techniques such as oversampling of the sonar return pulses, Transmission Pulse Shifting (TPS) and an irregular two-dimensional array of acoustic transducers to optimize the distribution of receiver spacings over a range of velocity vectors. The system architecture uses Digital Signal Processors (DSP) to cope with the large quantities of data which need to be collected and processed.
A navigation system for underwater vehicles
Ein Navigationssystem für Unterwasserfahrzeuge
1996
13 Seiten, 9 Bilder, 2 Tabellen, 16 Quellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch