Field performance evaluation of new methods for in-situ calibration of attitude and doppler sensors for underwater vehicle navigation

Abstract

We report a comparative performance evaluation, using at-sea field data, of recently reported methods for the problem of in-situ calibration of the alignment rotation matrix between Doppler sonar velocity sensors and inertial navigation sensors arising in the navigation of underwater vehicles. Most previously reported solutions to this alignment calibration problem require the use of absolute navigation fixes of the underwater vehicle, thus requiring additional navigation sensors and/or beacons to be located externally and apart from the underwater vehicle. We briefly review four recently reported alignment calibration methods employing only internal vehicle navigation sensors for velocity, acceleration, attitude, and depth. We report the results of comparative analysis of the performance of these recently reported methods and a previously reported method with navigation data from deepwater survey missions of the Sentry autonomous underwater vehicle conducted in March, 2011 in the Kermadec Arc in the Southern Pacific Ocean. The results reveal consistent differences in performance of the various methods when analyzed on navigation data from several different vehicle dives.

Advances in In Situ Alignment Calibration of Doppler and High/Low‐end Attitude Sensors for Underwater Vehicle Navigation: Theory and Experimental Evaluation

“…Preliminary results of this study were previously reported in conferences papers (Troni & Whitcomb, , , ; Troni, Kinsey, Yoerger, & Whitcomb, ). The present paper is a complete report of the proposed methods and results under different conditions.…”

“…The expected position accuracy of a Doppler navigation system is 1–5 % of the distance traveled for a calibrated system using a low‐cost attitude sensor, e.g., Singh, Eustice, Roman, & Pizarro () and Troni & Whitcomb (, b), and 0.1–0.2 % of the distance traveled for the case of a calibrated system using a high‐end attitude sensor, e.g., Troni, McFarland, Nichols, & Whitcomb (), Troni et al. (), and Troni & Whitcomb (, b). An extensive discussion of underwater vehicle navigation can be found in Troni ().…”

Underwater Doppler Navigation with Self-calibration

“…These methods require the vehicle to run on the surface so that a GPS signal is available (Joyce, 1989; Tang et al, 2013), or additional navigation beacons to be placed at surveyed sites (Kinsey and Whitcomb, 2006; 2007). Troni et al (2012) and Troni and Whitcomb (2010) proposed an in-situ calibration method using only on board DVL, gyrocompass and depth sensors, but the gyrocompass is unrealistically assumed to provide exact absolute attitude. In fact, precise attitude estimation for gyrocompass is not a solved problem and also needs extensive study (Silson, 2011; Li et al, 2013).…”

Rotation Identification in Geometric Algebra: Theory and Application to the Navigation of Underwater Robots in the Field

“…Kinsey and Whitcomb derive an constrained adaptive identifier and apply it to this problem in Kinsey & Whitcomb (). Recently, Troni and Whitcomb have adapted the LS methods to estimate the alignment between DVL and INS (Troni & Whitcomb, , ; Troni, Kinsey, Yoerger, & Whitcomb, ). Their method eliminates the need for external position measurements, effectively making it a strap‐down calibration technique.…”