Assessment of the Steering Precision of a Hydrographic USV along Sounding Profiles Using a High-Precision GNSS RTK Receiver Supported Autopilot

Łukasz Marchel, Cezary Specht and Mariusz Specht
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Łukasz Marchel: Department of Navigation and Hydrography, Polish Naval Academy, Śmidowicza 69, 81-127 Gdynia, Poland
Cezary Specht: Department of Geodesy and Oceanography, Gdynia Maritime University, Morska 81-87, 81-225 Gdynia, Poland
Mariusz Specht: Department of Transport and Logistics, Gdynia Maritime University, Morska 81-87, 81-225 Gdynia, Poland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-19

Abstract: Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) are increasingly used to perform numerous tasks connected with measurements in inland waters and seas. One of such target applications is hydrography, where traditional (manned) bathymetric measurements are increasingly often realized by unmanned surface vehicles. This pertains especially to restricted or hardly navigable waters, in which execution of hydrographic surveys with the use of USVs requires precise maneuvering. Bathymetric measurements should be realized in a way that makes it possible to determine the waterbody’s depth as precisely as possible, and this requires high-precision in navigating along planned sounding profiles. This paper presents research that aimed to determine the accuracy of unmanned surface vehicle steering in autonomous mode (with a Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller) along planned hydrographic profiles. During the measurements, a high-precision Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Real Time Kinematic (RTK) positioning system based on a GNSS reference station network (positioning accuracy: 1–2 cm, p = 0.95) and a magnetic compass with the stability of course maintenance of 1°–3° Root Mean Square (RMS) were used. For the purpose of evaluating the accuracy of the vessel’s path following along sounding profiles, the cross track error (XTE) measure, i.e., the distance between an USV’s position and the hydrographic profile, calculated transversely to the course, was proposed. The tests were compared with earlier measurements taken by other unmanned surface vehicles, which followed the exact same profiles with the use of much simpler and low-cost multi-GNSS receiver (positioning accuracy: 2–2.5 m or better, p = 0.50), supported with a Fluxgate magnetic compass with a high course measurement accuracy of 0.3° ( p = 0.50 at 30 m/s). The research has shown that despite the considerable difference in the positioning accuracy of both devices and incomparably different costs of both solutions, the authors proved that the use of the GNSS RTK positioning system, as opposed to a multi-GNSS system supported with a Fluxgate magnetic compass, influences the precision of USV following sounding profiles to an insignificant extent.

Keywords: Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV); Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS); Real Time Kinematic (RTK); bathymetric measurements; cross track error (XTE) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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