Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Navigation

Stewart Cannon and Jeff Smith

Abstract:	The development of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) has finally reached the point that their use on commercial projects is now being seriously considered. Much of the research and development efforts to date have been funded primarily by military organizations to meet defense objectives. In this paper the authors examine the navigation problems and their potential solutions that will permit the reliable use of AUVs on commercial survey and inspection operations. These techniques include the global positioning system, inertial navigation systems, Doppler speed logs, bathymetry- aided navigation, acoustic measurements from chase ships, acoustic measurements from transponders (bread- crumb technique), and multiple cooperative AUVs. The current level of development for each of the approaches will be discussed and its future potential assessed. Finally, the authors’ development efforts and current level of implementation relating to the XP-21 AUV will be presented.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 8th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1995) September 12 - 15, 1995 Palm Springs, CA
Pages:	925 - 933
Cite this article:	Cannon, Stewart, Smith, Jeff, "Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Navigation," Proceedings of the 8th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1995), Palm Springs, CA, September 1995, pp. 925-933.
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