Water profile navigation with an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler

Abstract

A novel navigation method is introduced using water current profiles measured by an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) mounted on a moving vehicle. These current profiles are combined with measurements of vehicle attitude and depth to simultaneously estimate the local current and the vehicle velocity. This velocity estimate can be integrated directly to give a position estimate, or it can be fused with measurements from other navigation sensors, such as an Inertial Navigation System (INS), Long Baseline (LBL) or Ultra-Short Baseline (USBL) acoustic tracking system. The method allows an underwater vehicle to maintain an estimate of its global position throughout all phases of its mission, including descent and ascent.