Directed-sensing strategies for feature-relative navigation

John J. Leonard; James G. Bellingham

doi:10.1117/12.150230

20 August 1993 Directed-sensing strategies for feature-relative navigation

John J. Leonard, James G. Bellingham

Proceedings Volume 2059, Sensor Fusion VI; (1993) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.150230
Event: Optical Tools for Manufacturing and Advanced Automation, 1993, Boston, MA, United States

Abstract

Many important applications of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) require operations in close proximity to man-made objects or natural bottom topography. In these situations, the vehicle must adapt its trajectory on-line in response to current threats and mission objectives. To provide this capability, we are developing a sonar-based navigation technique that emulates the manner in which a person navigates through an unknown room in the dark: by reaching out for and establishing contact with walls, tables, and chairs, managing transitions from one object to the next as one moves across the room. Our intuition here is that, in many ways, sonar is more like touch than vision. It may be possible to build a vehicle that can effectively use its sonar to `grab' an object of interest, say a cylindrical post for docking, and then `reel itself in' by feeding back sonar range measurements from the object to its dynamic controller. We envision an AUV that can establish `virtual tethers' with arbitrary objects in the water column or on the seabed. Fast, local processing can maintain `contact' with the objects or surfaces of interest. Control laws can be established to utilize streams of measurements from these features to achieve local, feature-relative navigation. While our research is driven by the severe challenges of the subsea environment, we anticipate that the approach will also be useful in land robot applications.

Citation Download Citation

John J. Leonard and James G. Bellingham "Directed-sensing strategies for feature-relative navigation", Proc. SPIE 2059, Sensor Fusion VI, (20 August 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.150230

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available