An Unmanned Future

OceanServer. (n.d.). IVER3 [digital image]. Retrieved from www.iver-auv.com/AP_003_Iver3.pdf The US Navy deployed three IVER3-580 Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) to Argentina during the recent search for the Argentine submarine A.R.A. San Juan, missing in the South Atlantic Ocean since November 15th (US Navy, 2017).   The IVER3 AUV can operate at depths of up to 100 meters at speeds of up to 4 knots for up to 14 hours (Overview, 2017).   Active search sensors include a side scan sonar, which is utilized to obtain an image of the ocean floor to detect objects, and a swath bathymetry sonar to map the depth of the ocean floor below the vehicle (IVER3, n.d.).   Navigational sensors include GPS for fixing the vehicle’s location on the surface, a doppler velocity log (DVL) and inertial navigation system (INS) for determining vehicle location under the surface, and a forward-looking echo sounder in the bow for collision avoidance (IVER3, n.d.).   The vehicle can also be e

This initial blog post will discuss the use of exteroceptive sensor systems aboard the Daredevil PackBot unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to navigate in all weather conditions, as outlined in Yamauchi’s paper titled “Fusing Ultra-Wideband Radar (UWB) and LIDAR for Small UGV Navigation in All-Weather Conditions.” Yamauchi’s research into the use of UWB radar and LIDAR builds upon previous research that showed UWB radar was capable of detecting objects “in a snowstorm, through dense fog, and through sparse foliage” (2010).   However, the use of radar is not as accurate as LIDAR or visual navigation techniques, reducing the speed at which the UGV can operate.   The use of a calibrated max filter algorithm addressed issues experience differentiating between ground clutter returns and obstacles, but remained unable to match the accuracy of LIDAR or stereo vision sensors.   Yamauchi, Brian. (2010). Daredevil Packbot [digital image]. doi: 10.1117/12.850386 Advantages to the incorporati