Brian Kieft

Efficient propulsion for the Tethys long-range autonomous underwater vehicle

The Tethys autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is a 110 kg vehicle designed for long-range, high- endurance operations. Performance goals include supporting a payload power draw of 8 W for a range of 1000 km at 1 m/s, and a power draw of 1 W for 4000 km at 0.5 m/s. Achieving this performance requires minimizing drag and maximizing propulsion efficiency. In this paper, we present the design of the propulsion system, explore the issues of propeller-hull interactions, and present preliminary test results of power consumption and efficiency. In recent underwater experiments, the propulsion systems power consumptions were measured in both Bollard pull tests and during the vehicles flights. Preliminary results of power consumptions and efficiency are shown to be close to the theoretical predictions.

Tethys-class long range AUVs - extending the endurance of propeller-driven cruising AUVs from days to weeks

Most existing propeller-driven, cruising AUVs operate with a support ship and have an endurance of about one day. However, many oceanographic processes evolve over days or weeks, requiring propeller-driven vehicles be attended by a ship for complete observation programs. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) developed the 105 kg propeller-driven Tethys AUV to conduct science missions over periods of weeks or even months without a ship [1]. Here we describe a three week deployment covering 1800 km at a speed of 1 m/s, supporting sensor power levels averaging 5 watts. Unlike buoyancy driven gliders, Tethys uses a propeller that allows level flight and a variable speed range of 0.5 - 1.2 m/s. The extended endurance enables operations in remote locations like under the ice, across ocean basins in addition to enabling continuous presence in smaller areas. Early success led to the construction of a second Tethys-class AUV with a third in planning. An AUV docking station that can be mated to a cabled observatory or standalone mooring is in development to further extend Tethys endurance.

Thermocline tracking based on peak-gradient detection by an autonomous underwater vehicle

Thermoclines play a key role in ocean circulation, marine ecology, and underwater acoustics. In oceanographic surveys, it is often desirable to detect the thermocline and track its spatio-temporal variation. Mobility of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) makes it an efficient platform for thermocline tracking. In this paper, we present a fully autonomous algorithm for detecting and tracking the thermocline by an AUV. The key is detection of the peak gradient of temperature. We have tested the algorithm by post-processing data from a previous Dorado AUV survey over the northern Monterey Bay shelf. We are in preparation for field tests of the algorithm on the newly developed long-range AUV Tethys.

Scripting language for state configured layered control of the Tethys long range autonomous underwater vehicle

A scripting language for state configured layered control of a long range autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is introduced. The XML-based language has been designed to meet the complex requirements for long-term autonomous operation. It does not require that mission planners be programmers, yet allows them to have a high degree of certainty at deployment that the robot will do what they want it to do. The script is simple to execute on the vehicle, both to minimize CPU power usage and to minimize the chance of failure due to complexity. Users do not need a high-fidelity model of the AUV to plan a mission, as the robot may change in unexpected ways over the course of the mission. Those who wish to do more advanced programming of mission commands and behaviors can do so in the script and are not able to crash the vehicles operating system. To address these needs, the “Tethys script” state-configured layered control language has been developed.

Tracking and sampling of a phytoplankton patch by an autonomous underwater vehicle in drifting mode

Phytoplankton patches in the coastal ocean have important impacts on the patterns of primary productivity, the survival and growth of zooplankton and fish larvae, and the development of harmful algal blooms (HABs). We desire to observe microscopic life in a phytoplankton patch in its natural frame of reference (which is moving with the ocean current), thereby permitting resolution of time-dependent evolution of the population. To achieve this goal, we have developed a method for a Tethys-class long range autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) (which has a propeller and a buoyancy engine) to detect, track, and sample a phytoplankton patch in buoyancy-controlled drifting mode. In this mode, the vehicle shuts off its propeller and actively controls its buoyancy to autonomously find the peakchlorophyll layer, stay in it, and trigger water sampling in the layer. In an experiment in Monterey Bay, CA in July 2015, the Makai AUV, which was equipped with a prototype 3rd-generation Environmental Sample Processor (3G-ESP), ran the algorithm to autonomously detect the peak-chlorophyll layer, and drifted and triggered ESP samplings in the layer.

Acoustic tracking and homing with a long-range AUV

This paper presents the development effort toward demonstrating acoustic tracking and homing with a long-range AUV (LRAUV) at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). The acoustic tracking system uses a directional acoustic transponder (DAT) from Teledyne Benthos, backed by an acoustic baffle made from syntactic acoustic damping material (SADM). We discuss sensor integration into the LRAUV system, procedures and results from an in-house calibration, and field tests with both anchored and towed transponders.

Isotherm Tracking by an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle in Drift Mode

Studies of marine physical, chemical, and microbiological processes benefit from observing in a Lagrangian frame of reference. Some of these processes are related to specific density or temperature ranges. We have developed a method for a Tethys-class long-range autonomous underwater vehicle (LRAUV) (which has a propeller and a buoyancy engine) to track a targeted isothermal layer (within a narrow temperature range) in a stratified water column when operating in buoyancy-controlled drift mode. In this mode, the vehicle shuts off its propeller and autonomously detects the isotherm and stays with it by actively controlling the vehicles buoyancy. The LRAUV starts on an initial descent to search for the target temperature. Once the temperature falls in the target center bracket, the vehicle records the corresponding depth and adjusts buoyancy to hold that depth. As long as the temperature stays within a tolerance range, the vehicle continues to hold that depth. If the temperature falls out of the tolerance range, the vehicle will increase or decrease buoyancy to reacquire the target temperature and track it. In a June 2015 experiment in Monterey Bay, CA, USA, an LRAUV ran the presented algorithm to successfully track a target isotherm for 13 h. Over the isotherm tracking duration, the LRAUV mostly remained in the 0.5

Range-only underwater target localization: Path characterization

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Autonomous front tracking by a Wave Glider

C (peak-to-peak) tolerance range as designed, even though the water columns stratification kept changing. This work paves the way to coupling an LRAUVs complimentary modes of flight and drift—searching for an oceanographic feature in flight mode, and then switching to drift mode to track the feature in a Lagrangian frame of reference.

A real-time vertical plane flight anomaly detection system for a long range autonomous underwater vehicle

Underwater localization using acoustic signals is one of the main components in a navigation system for an AUV as a more accurate alternative to dead-reckoning techniques. While different methods based on the idea of multiple beacons have been studied, other approaches use only one beacon, which reduces the system costs and deployment complexity. The inverse approach for single-beacon navigation is to use this method for target localization by an underwater or surface vehicle. In this paper we present a method of range-only target localization using a Wave Glider™, for which simulations and sea tests have been conducted to determine optimal parameters to minimize acoustic energy use and search time and to maximize location accuracy and precision.