NAVIGATION REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLES

J. S. Stambaugh and R. B. Thibault

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	The specification and design of a navigation system for use on an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) must be conducted as an integral part of the top-level vehicle design process. This paper addresses the physical characteristics of the navigation system that are likely to have the largest impact on the overall performance of the vehicle. Accuracy requirements are analyzed to match the types and capabilities of equipments that can be included in the navigation subsystem to the desired vehicle task capabilities. Considered among these equipment types are an inertial navigation unit (INU), sonar velocity log (SVL), and acoustic transponder navigation (ATN) system. In general, the outputs of several equipment types need to be combined in order to achieve the desired performance. The expected contributions of the various equipments in an integrated navigation subsystem are identified. In some cases, off-the-shelf equipment is available that will support vehicle requirements. However, most of this equipment was not originally designed for an AUV application. This paper identifies areas where improvements can be made to better support AUV requirements.
Published in:	NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 39, Number 1
Pages:	79 - 92
Cite this article:	Stambaugh, J. S., Thibault, R. B., "NAVIGATION REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLES", NAVIGATION: Journal of The Institute of Navigation, Vol. 39, No. 1, Spring 1992, pp. 79-92.
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