Abstract
Reliable and accurate positioning underwater has been the goal of many research activities in the last years. In this paper, we present our design of a self-maintainable underwater navigation system, which provides a simple, low-cost, and flexible solution. In our concept, a set of buoys is equipped with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers as well as underwater pseudolite signal transmitters. Therefore, the buoys are able estimate their position and transmit this information underwater through a pseudolite signal. We particularly designed this signal for underwater ranging for both fresh and salt water. Any suitable underwater receiver is then able to do ranging via these pseudolite signals. In this paper, we theoretically analyze and test our concept using several buoy distributions and diving depths. The optimal arrangement of buoys is determined in terms of accuracy and availability depending on the number of available buoys and targeted water depth for an efficient operation. For example, at a targeted depth of 30 m in fresh water, a maximum horizontal position root-mean-square (RMS) error of less than 3 m can be achieved with a set of five buoys providing a service radius of up to 72 m.
Highlights
A reliable and accurate underwater positioning is mandatory for divers, as well as underwater vehicles [1]
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Our design takes into account the propagation of electromagnetic (EM) waves in water at various frequencies and the predominant noise sources in water based upon the comprehensive overview on underwater radio signals by Moore [20]
Summary
A reliable and accurate underwater positioning is mandatory for divers, as well as underwater vehicles [1]. The length of the cable line (maximum depth restriction) and not able to position the antenna exactly above the user, which affect the accuracy, are limitations of the solution [15,16] Another way to determine the position of an underwater object is by using a GPS Intelligent Buoys (GIB) system [17]. A further interesting underwater navigation system solution using acoustic waves with range up to 250 m can be found in [19] It uses only one buoy whose position is connected to a GPS antenna on land with a Real Time Kinematic (RTK) system or Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS). By selecting realistic simulation parameters, we analyze the position performance of different buoy distributions in terms of accuracy and availability We discuss these results and extract distancing of buoys in order to provide a maximum service area while maintaining an underwater position standard deviation of less than three meter.
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