Underwater surface scan utilizing an unmanned underwater vehicle with sampled range information

Abstract

This manuscript presents underwater scanning controllers for an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) with sampled range information. The UUV can measure its depth and emits several rays around it, such that each ray forms an equi-angular configuration on the horizontal plane. We develop 3-D controllers of the UUV so that it can scan (cover) a 3-D surface in underwater environments within a given range of depths. As far as we know, this paper is novel in developing 3-D controllers for full scan of the surface using a vehicle which emits several sensing rays around it. Extensive simulation results are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controllers.