Docking for an autonomous ocean sampling network

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the issues associated with docking autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) operating within an Autonomous Ocean Sampling Network (AOSN). We present a system based upon an acoustic ultrashort baseline system that allows the AUV to approach the dock from any direction. A passive latch on the AUV and a pole on the dock accomplish the task of mechanically docking the vehicle. We show that our technique for homing is extremely robust in the face of the two dominant sources of error-namely the presence of currents and the presence of magnetic anomalies. Our strategy for homing is independent of the initial bearing of the dock to the AUV, includes a method for detecting when the vehicle has missed the dock, and automatically ensures that the AUV is in a position to retry homing with a greater chance of success. Our approach is seen to be extremely successful in homing the vehicle to the dock, mechanically attaching itself to the dock, aligning inductive cores for data and power transfer, and undocking at the start of a fresh mission. Once the AUV is on the dock, we present a methodology that allows us to achieve the complex tasks with ensuring that the AUV is securely docked, periodically checking vehicle status, reacting to a vehicle that requires charging, tracking it when it is out on a mission, archiving and transmitting via satellite the data that the AUV collects during its missions, as well as providing a mechanism for researchers removed from the site to learn about vehicle status and command high-level missions. The dock is capable of long-term deployments at a remote site while respecting the constraints - low power, small size, low computational energy, low bandwidth, and little or no user input - imposed by the amalgamation of acoustic, electronic and mechanical components that comprise the entire system.