AUVAC

Early Vehicles from the MIT Sea Grant AUV Lab

MIT Sea Grant AUV Lab
Dedicated to the development and application of autonomous underwater vehicles since 1989, MIT Sea Grant’s AUV Lab is a leading developer of advanced unmanned marine robots. Because our vehicles can function without tethers, cables, or remote control, they have a multitude of applications in oceanography, environmental monitoring, and underwater resource studies.

The laboratory also serves as a training ground for graduate and undergraduate students, visiting engineers, and scientists, from around the world, who both learn from and contribute to the Lab’s current research activities.

Canadian AUV Development 1979 – 2009

16th International Symposium on Unmanned Untethered
Submersible Technology – UUST09
August 23rd -26th 2009
Durham, NH USA

James Ferguson International Submarine Engineering

In Canada, development of the AUV owes its start to Mr. Adam Kerr and Dr. Jim McFarlane. It was Mr. Kerr, the Director of the Canadian Hydrographic Service who said in 1979, “I need Untethered ROVs” and Jim McFarlane of International Submarine Engineering who said “I can make them”. Over the next two years, these gentlemen contributed their time and energy to developing the specifications and the finding the money for what would become Canada’s first AUVs.

The first of these vehicles was known as ARCS or Autonomous and Remote Controlled System. It was to be used in charting the seabed in Lancaster Sound as part of a larger project to allow LNG tankers to access Bridgeport Inlet in the high Canadian Arctic. The aim was to develop a fully autonomous vehicle but to be able to take supervisory command when desired.

The second project was known as Dolphin, a diesel powered semi-submersible vehicle. The purpose of this vehicle was to increase the productivity of larger hydrographic survey vessels. Although it had a radio telemetry link, the aim was to operate this vehicle autonomously as well. The Dolphin prototype was built between 1982 and 1983. It was so successful that the Canadian government purchased 3 more systems in 1984, and the US Navy ordered a further four between 1985-7. The Canadian systems were used for the development of hydrographic vehicles. The American systems were used for early experiments with remote minehunting concepts.

The Arcs prototype was built in 1983. It had a range of 110 kilometers at 4 knots, and an operating depth of 300 meters.. Although never used for its intended hydrographic purposes, it was an excellent R and D platform because of its modular design. In its 19 year life, it made over 800 dives and served as the platform for 37 equipment integrations. By 1997, using an aluminum-oxygen fuel cell, its endurance had increased to 360 km at 4 knots. ARCS was retired in 2003.

At the early UUSTs, we used to speak about “dropping our tether”. At that time, AUVs started out with a tether that allowed the operator to overide, as well as to study what was going on. Most of these were physical, a few were acoustic. A goal of the developer was to drop the tether and get on with AUV operations. After a few months of trials “on the tether”, we were persuaded by the terms of our contract to “drop the tether”. This worked better than we thought it would at the time  and heralded the start of AUVs in Canada.

Now and then, our vehicle would not finish its mission at the location we had (or thought we had) specified, and we had to go and look for it. Generally speaking, the fault was ours, the vehicle had done exactly what we had told it to do. In 1989, the Hydrographic Service development programs were transferred to the Department of National Defence.

The ARCS was used as a half scale model of a larger AUV which the Navy wished to develop for Arctic operations. Sub-system development for this vehicle started in the early 1990’s. At the same time, ISE developed a number of small AUVs for universities. Amongst these were the PURL AUVs used by Simon Fraser University and the Sea Squirt AUV developed for Dr. Jim Bellingham at MIT.

Development of the 9 ton Theseus vehicle commenced in 1994. The signature project of the nineties was Theseus. Developed as part of the US-Canada Spinnaker program, Theseus was a large AUV developed to lay fibre-optic cable on the arctic seabed. The vehicle was built between 1993 and 1994. In 1995, it was tested in southern waters and then under the ice from Alert, Nunavut. A series of under-ice missions were conducted in 1996. At the time, Theseus was the largest AUV built. With its installed battery, it had a range of over 800 km. If the full space available for battery were to have been used, the theoretical range of the vehicle was 1400 km. On the arctic missions, Theseus completed a number of 60 hour under-ice transits that were in excess of 360 km length, a record that holds today. Navigational accuracy of the vehicle on average was 0.4% of the distance travelled. The vehicle has a depth rating of 2000 meters. Theseus was the first AUV to lay fibre-optic cable in the seabed. It is currently owned by DRDC and stored at ISE’s Vancouver premises.

The ISE Dolphin was used to further research in the area of minehunting and by 1996, a prototype minehunting vehicle was built. In the same timeframe, four Dolphin vehicles were sold to the US Navy. Two of these were used for tactical oceanography while the other two were the subject of a development program called Remote Minehunting. They became the RMS (V1) and then subsequently (V2) AUVs. The strong success of these vehicles in a minehunting application provided the incentive for the current US RMS program. In the same timeframe, Canada’s minehunting program continued with a successful introduction of the system into service with the Canadian Navy.

We have also applied the design to a seismic tow platform working with the CGG of France. The ISE Dolphin was used to further research in the area of minehunting and by 1996, a prototype minehunting vehicle was built. In the same timeframe, four Dolphin vehicles were sold to the US Navy. Two of these were used for tactical oceanography while the other two were the subject of a development program called Remote Minehunting. They became the RMS (V1) and then subsequently (V2) AUVs. The strong success of these vehicles in a minehunting application provided the incentive for the current US RMS program. In the same timeframe, Canada’s minehunting program continued with a successful introduction of the system into service with the Canadian Navy. We have also applied the design to a seismic tow platform working with the CGG of France.

In the late ‘90s, the ocean industry began to procure AUVs on a commercial basis. At this point, ISE updated the design of the ARCS AUV, initially targeting sales within the marine science sector.

Most of the 450 AUVs that have been built to date are cruising vehicles that are optimized for survey operations. Recently, the need has developed for vehicles that have better maneuvering capabilities. Many companies are now responding to this need. In Canada, Marport of St. Johns is developing a lightweight (<100 kg) 500 meter depth seabed inspection AUV in partnership with the National Research Council. ISE is under contract with Cybernetix SA of Marseille and the French oil company Total to develop a hybrid AUV that will transport a work class ROV to satellites where it will dock and provide power for the ROV.

A number of AUVs have been developed at Canadian universities. These include the Memorial University of Newfoundland C-Scout (1999-2001) and the University of Victoria AUVic (2004-2008). Some development has also been undertaken by the University of Alberta and the University of McGill in Montreal. In addition, Canadian institutions have acquired AUVs for research. Memorial University operates an ISE Explorer 3000 meter depth AUV from the Marine Institute in Holyrood while both the University of BC and the National Research Council operate 200 meter depth Gavia AUVs. Finally, the University of Victoria is to receive a Bluefin 12 AUV while the Geological Survey of Canada is shortly to take delivery of 2 ISE Explorer 5000 meter depth AUVs.

As the 3rd decade of ISE’s AUV development closes, we are heading back to the Arctic with Memorial University, the Canadian Defence Research establishment and the Geological Survey of Canada. This will be in support of Canada’s submission under Article 76 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. We expect to undertake a series of missions in 2010 and 2011 to support other survey work above 80 degrees North latitude. Missions of up to 450 km will be undertaken to depths of 4500 meters. A new challenge that has arisen as a result of global warming will be to deal with moving icefloes over the 80 hour mission. In preparation for this work, trials were held north of Alert in 2009 to define some of the parameters that will affect the 2010 and 2011 missions.

We believe that the move towards unsupervised missions with AUVs will result in a trend towards the use of larger AUVs as they will have to be capable of both transit to and from the operating area as well as the operation itself. Secondly, as they will be recovered more and more in the harbour rather than from a ship at sea, sized will cease to be as much a concern. Putting this together we believe that requirements for much longer range AUVs will evolve over the next few years. There is a possibility that these will be hybrids.

We also see the introduction of the intervention vehicle in all three sectors of the subsea industry. With these systems, there should need to be development in the area of vision systems and tools that AUVs can use. In addition to this, the expanding use of the AUV in the existing areas of the subsea industry and its introduction into new areas such as ocean mining are likely to create new demands on sensor, actuator and vehicle technology.

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Introduction
An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) is a robotic device that is driven through the water by a propulsion system, controlled and piloted by an onboard computer, and maneuverable in three dimensions. This level of control, under most environmental conditions, permits the vehicle to follow precise preprogrammed trajectories wherever and whenever required. Sensors on board the AUV sample the ocean as the AUV moves through it, providing the ability to make both spatial and time series measurements. Sensor data collected by an AUV is automatically geospatially and temporally referenced and normally of superior quality. Multiple vehicle surveys increase productivity, can insure adequate temporal and spatial sampling, and provide a means of investigating the coherence of the ocean in time and space.

The fact that an AUV is normally moving does not prevent it from also serving as a Lagrangian, or quasi Eulerian, platform. This mode of operation may be achieved by programming the vehicle to stop thrusting and float passively at a specific depth or density layer in the sea, or to actively loiter near a desired location. AUV’s may also be programmed to swim at a constant pressure or altitude or to vary their depth and/or heading as they move through the water, so that undulating sea saw survey patterns covering both vertical and/or horizontal swaths may be formed. AUV’s are also well suited to perform long linear transects, sea sawing through the water as they go, or traveling at a constant pressure. They also provide a highly productive means of performing seafloor surveys using acoustic or optical imaging systems.

When compared to other Lagrangian platforms, AUV’s become the tools of choice as the need for control and sensor power increases. The AUV’s advantage in this area is achieved at the expense of endurance, which for an AUV is typically on the order of 8- 50 hours. Most vehicles can vary their velocity between 0.5 and 2.5 m/s. The optimum speed and the corresponding greatest range of the vehicle occur when its hotel load (all required power except propulsion) is twice the propulsive load. For most vehicles, this occurs at a velocity near 1.5 m/s.

The degree of autonomy of the robot presents an interesting dichotomy. Total autonomy does not provide the user with any feedback on the vehicle’s progress or health, nor does it provide a means of controlling or redirecting the vehicle during a mission. It does, however, free the user to perform other tasks, thereby greatly reducing operational costs, as long as the vehicle and the operator meet at their duly appointed times at the end of the mission. For some missions, total autonomy may be the only choice; in other cases when the vehicle is performing a routine mission, it may be the preferable mode of operation.

Bidirectional acoustic, radio frequency, and satellite based communications systems offer the capability to monitor and redirect AUV missions worldwide from a ship or from land. For this reason, semi-autonomous operations offer distinct advantages over fully autonomous operations.

Design and Control of Autonomous Underwater Robots: A Survey

Abstract. During the 1990s, numerous worldwide research and development activities have occurred in underwater robotics, especially in the area of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). As the ocean attracts great attention on environmental issues and resources as well as scientific and military tasks, the need for and use of underwater robotic systems has become more apparent. Great efforts have been made in developing AUVs to overcome challenging scientific and engineering problems caused by the unstructured and hazardous ocean environment. In the 1990s, about 30 newAUVs have been builtworldwide.With the development of newmaterials, advanced computing and sensory technology, as well as theoretical advancements, R&Dactivities in theAUVcommunity have increased. However, this is just the beginning for more advanced, yet practical and reliableAUVs. This paper surveys some key areas in current state-of-the-art underwater robotic technologies. It is by no means a complete survey but provides key references for future development. The new millennium will bring advancements in technology that will enable the development of more practical, reliable AUVs.

Keywords: underwater robots, autonomous underwater vehicles, underwater navigation and control

Submersibles and Marine Technologies In Russia’s Far East and Siberia

This report is a review of research submersible vehicles and other marine technologies in Siberia and the Russian Far East. It complements a 1994 WTEC report covering submersible technologies in Ukraine and European Russia. The panel found that two institutions in Vladivostok have extensive developments and experience in operating remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). In particular, two prototype AUVs developed by the Institute for Marine Technology Problems (EVITP) are rated at 6000 meters operating depth, one of which has logged 160 working dive missions greater than 4000 meters. The WTEC panelists concluded that MTP had more AUV operating experience than all U.S. programs combined. The panel also visited several centers of excellence in the Novosibirsk area, including the Institute of Thermodynamics and Applied Mechanics, which is world-class facility for research on aerodynamics, including eight wind tunnels achieving air speeds up to Mach 25. Other institutes the panel visited are doing research in computer software development, marine biology and bioorganic chemistry, physics, and energy research. The panel sensed a new commitment to openness about R&D work being done in the institutes it visited, and found that several institutes already have developed extensive international relationships. However, the panel also perceived that many of these institutes are in a state of crisis, with declining government funding and mixed results in efforts to spin off profit-making enterprises. Some research institutes have expired and more will cease to exist because of the lack of basic funding by the government

The Slocum Mission

It is difficult to realize that twenty-five years have passed since I first came to the Slocum Mission Control Center on Nonamesset Island, one of the Elizabeth Islands, in 1996. I was a post-doc in physical oceanography, and the Department of the Environment had just acquired the island from the descendants of a sea captain prominent in the China trade of the early nineteenth century. The government acquired Nonamesset to establish the World Ocean Observing System [WOOS], a facility capable of monitoring the global ocean, using a fleet of small neutrally-buoyant floats called Slocums that draw their power from the temperature stratification of the ocean. Nonamesset Island was chosen partly because it is isolated from the mainland of Cape Cod, but mostly because it is close to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Marine Biological Laboratory. and a thriving scientific community.