Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
ecoSUB AUVs: Enhancing navigation with network localisationIain Vincent, Director, ecoSUB Robotics Limited
Background
Intro to ecoSUB AUVs
Why develop network localisation?
Project
Results
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Agenda
Designed & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Partners:
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Background – ecoSUB AUVs
• 4 years of joint R&D effort
• Partnership between:• Planet Ocean
• National Oceanography Centre
• Two vehicle types, currently three variants
• Disruptive technology: designed to ‘democratise the AUV’
• Low cost, smart, easy to use – mission to increase access to AUVs
Designed & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
ecoSUBµ5 (micro)
DEPTH500M
ENDURANCE
8-20HSPEED1M/S
ACOUSTIC IRIDIUM
WIFIGPS
WEIGHT
4KG
Length (inc antenna):925 mm (body 660 mm)Diameter:111 mm
ecoSUBm5 & ecoSUBm25 (milli)
F B
ENDURANCE
8-18HSPEED1M/S
ACOUSTIC IRIDIUM
WIFIGPS
WEIGHT
12KG
Length1000 mmDiameter:146 mm
F BDEPTH
2500M
DEPTH500M
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
HermesCommand Control & Communications System
• WiFi hub for vehicles• Two-way Iridium for internet denied
environments• 3G/4G internet hub• GPS• Acoustic modem option• OEM version for USV’s, buoys
ecoSUB C3Graphical User Interface (GUI) software
• Vehicle dashboard • Pre and post deployment testing• Mission planning• Data recovery• Data storage• Vehicle recovery of ecoSUB AUVs
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Early adopter customers include
• National Oceanography Centre, UK
• DSTL, MOD UK
• Scottish Association of Marine Science (SAMS),UK
• University of Southampton, UK
• University of Bath, UK
• Plextek, UK
• Dalhousie University, Canada
Production vehicles ready very soon…
Designed & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Project rationale
• Dead reckoning +/- 10% error of distance travelled
• Adequate for many applications
• Not great for others…
Error = 10% distance travelled
Designed & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Challenge
• Enhance navigation accuracy without adding high cost / high power demand payload
• Nano-modems + development of network to share position information between nodes
• EKF to fuse LBL position information with dead reckoner
• Navigation responsive to dynamics environments – currents
Solution
Designed & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Ultra low power Nano-modems provided by project partner, Jeff Neasham (University of Newcastle)
Designed & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Navigation SoftwareDevelopment in three main stages:
New system architecture → Adaptive behaviours → System refinements
9
Message encoding/decoding
Message queuing and dispatching
Encapsulation of localisation- oriented data
Message transmission / reception
Designed & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
+/-5-10m
LBL networkNodes on surface transmit GPS subsea
for triangulation
ecoSUB network localisation
Designed & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
How many nodes…?
• Ideally minimum of three surfaces nodes
• Network unlimited
• Nodes can drop in and out of network
• Network can extend over large area
• Nano-modem range 2kmDesigned & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Scalable network… we want to operate more than one AUV, right?!
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
How many nodes…?
• Ideally minimum of three surfaces nodes
• Network unlimited
• Nodes can drop in and out of network
• Network can extend over large area
• Nano-modem range 2kmDesigned & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Project highlights• Trials in July 2018 – confined water
• 3 x Fixed surface nodes
• 1 x Underwater unit localising
• Trials in January 2019 – Loch Ness• 3 x Station keeping surface nodes
• 3 x Underwater units localising
• Trials in July 2019 – 12km South of Plymouth – Open water (50m)• 3 x Station keeping surface nodes• 7 x Underwater units localising
Designed & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
We took 13 AUVs(!) to Plymouth
ecoSUBu5 using a station keeping behaviour to hold position. Receives GPS, broadcast to underwater vehicles
Although we operated six AUVs in the network, we had a few issues… Mostly not related to network localisation, but prevented a comprehensive and complete trials exercise to prove the workCroatia: September/October 2019
We went to Croatia with seven AUVs and worked to refine the network localisation and prove the system with multiple AUV operations
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Experiment breakdown….
• Three ecoSUBu5’s operating station keeping behaviour and acting as surface nodes in a triangle
• Three ecoSUBm5’s simultaneously completing lawnmower surveys in the bay, all localising inside the network
• Our Hermes C3 box monitoring the network providing real time tracking of the vehicles underwater
Designed & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Designed & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Actual navigation with network localisation
Dead reckoner performance: navigation without network localisation
Multi-vehicle, multi-missionRapid environmental assessment
Mission plots – network localisation
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
How many nodes…?
• Ideally minimum of three surfaces nodes
• Network unlimited
• Nodes can drop in and out of network
• Network can extend over large area
• Nano-modem range 2kmDesigned & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Croatia missions• Three underwater vehicles
operated simultaneously at different depths within the network
• Enabled rapid data capture (45 mins)
• High resolution 3D assessment of fluorimetry, temperature, and bathymetry
• Very easy mission planning, launch and recovery, very limited infrastructure required
Designed & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Bathymetry data from ecoSUBm5 AUVs
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Designed & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Mission duration (157): 3h 20 minFinal error (EKF): 25 m Final error (DR): 675 m
Final mission of the week
LaunchRecover• Extend network area
• Shore launch, shore recovery
• Lawnmower coast to coast with ecoSUBm5
• 3 hour mission
• Difficult conditions, significant currents expected
• Low probability of success
Designed & developed in partnershipDesigned & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk
Thank you
Please visit ecoSUB.uk for more information
Roll of honourEdwin Anarcaya
Richard Austin-BerryJames Burris
Mark ChalmersPeter Collinson
Alex DownerDavide FenucciJames Fishwick
Naomi GoldAlan Gould
David GrahamPete Hanley
Catherine HarrisNick Linton
Andrea MunafoJeff Neasham
Martin PalmerAlex Phillips
Danny RobinsonFranck SitbonJeremy Sitbon
Terry SloaneGraham Sloane
Aidan ThornIain Vincent
Smart Sound Plymouth Team
Designed & developed in partnership
www.ecoSUB.uk