Advanced Navigation Systems for Underwater Vehicles: A Survey

As underwater gliders continue to play a crucial role in marine research, there is a growing need for accurate and efficient navigation systems. Attitude Heading Reference Systems (AHRS) are widely used in unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), but they come with their own set of challenges. This article presents a new approach to navigation that combines the advantages of AHRS with the cost-effectiveness of MEMS inertial measurement units (IMUs).
The authors propose a novel fault-tolerant GPS/DR integrated navigation system based on heuristic reduction of MEMS IMU drift. This system is designed to provide high accuracy output navigation parameters, such as velocities and locations, without incurring the high costs associated with traditional AHRS systems. The proposed method leverages the sensitivity of gyroscopes and accelerometers in an INS to determine attitude angles and spatial orientation.
The article presents a detailed analysis of existing methods for underwater navigation, including the use of strapdown inertial navigation systems (INS) with electronic compass and pressure sensor. The authors demonstrate that these systems can be expensive and technologically complex, making them unsuitable for mass production at an acceptable accuracy level.
The proposed navigation system offers several advantages over existing methods. Firstly, it is designed to be cost-effective while maintaining high accuracy levels. Secondly, it provides a more comprehensive and reliable solution by combining the strengths of AHRS and IMUs. Finally, the system is fault-tolerant, meaning that it can continue to provide accurate navigation even in the event of sensor failures or other technical issues.
The article concludes with an analysis of the experimental data obtained through laboratory experiments using the developed prototype. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed navigation system and highlight its potential for use in underwater gliders.
In summary, this article presents a novel approach to underwater navigation that combines the advantages of AHRS and IMUs to provide accurate and efficient navigation systems without compromising on cost-effectiveness. The proposed system has far-reaching implications for the marine research community, as it can help unmanned underwater vehicles gather data more efficiently and accurately while minimizing costs.