Terrain Aided Navigation for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles with Local Gaussian Processes

Navigation of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in the subsea environment is particularly challenging due to the unavailability of GPS because of rapid attenuation of electromagnetic waves in water. As a result, the AUV requires alternative methods for position estimation. This thesis describes a terrain-aided navigation approach for an AUV where, with the help of a prior depth map, the AUV localizes itself using altitude measurements from a multibeam DVL. The AUV simultaneously builds a probabilistic depth map of the seafloor as it moves to unmapped locations. The main contribution of this thesis is a new, scalable, and on-line terrain-aided navigation solution for AUVs which does not require the assistance of a support surface vessel. Simulation results on synthetic data and experimental results from AUV field trials in Panama City, Florida are also presented.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Computer Engineering

Department dc:contributor.department

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2017

Author dc:creator

• Chowdhary, Abhilash

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Stilwell, Daniel J.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Williams, Ryan K.
• Tokekar, Pratap

• Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
• Navigation
• Gaussian Processes

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:12220

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/78278