Technical Information
Control of Multiple AUVs by ASV
2021 Volume 56 Issue 3 Pages 449-456
Details
2021 Volume 56 Issue 3 Pages 449-456
A major advantage of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) is that it is possible to operate a greater number of them simultaneously thanks to their autonomous and cable-less characteristics. However, the more AUVs are operating at the same time, the more difficult it becomes to control them. One of the solutions to this problem is to use an Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV) and this allows the mother ship to focus on ASV operations and emergency response.
In 2017, National Maritime Research Institute (NMRI) developed an ASV for AUV control and operated it with multiple AUVs for a seafloor resources survey. In this operation, the ASV collected data on the AUV's status and transmitted it in radio communication, making it possible the mother ship to focus on launch and recovery operations. In this paper, we introduce the results of the ASV operation to control the AUVs along with the development and sea trials of the ASV.
