Station layout optimization for underwater acoustic positioning system based on combined cone configuration

Abstract

The theoretical minimum of the geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) for target positioning cannot be achieved because of the coplanar constraint for underwater station configurations, and the conventional single-cone configuration leads to an infinite GDOP. Therefore, this study extends the single-cone configuration to the combined cone configuration. The proposed configuration is theoretically proven to be superimposable, rotatable, and GDOP-rotation-invariant. A criterion based on the global GDOP for underwater targets is constructed to address the problem of a single criterion for station layout optimization. However, traditional optimization algorithms are prone to local optimality and low convergence efficiency. Therefore, an improved adaptive particle swarm optimization (APSO) algorithm is proposed to optimize the configuration of the underwater acoustic positioning systems. Finally, it is verified that the proposed APSO can enhance the global optimality and improve the convergence efficiency of the algorithm. Combined with the measured data of the long baseline system, it is shown that the optimal combined cone configuration significantly reduces the global GDOP and improves the positioning accuracy compared with traditional configurations.