Navigation of underwater autonomous vehicles

Abstract

The paper suggests an approach to solving the problem of navigation of an underwater vehicle using acoustic and geometric data and gravitation field potential changing in time. The known methods of making seafloor acoustic maps are not effective for correction of coordinates in areas of smooth relief and in shallow water. The suggested algorithm allows maps to be made using acoustic sectional views of the seafloor layers. The different areas of seafloor have acoustic layers of various geometric form. Using the information about gravitation field changing in time, one can considerably increase the probability of a correct forecast of an underwater vehicle coordinates.