• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.560-565
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• 2014

In this study, the problem of trajectory optimization for underwater gliders considering depth constraints is discussed. Typically, underwater gliders are controlled to dive and climb in a saw-tooth pattern at constant gliding angles. This approach is effective and close to optimal for deep water applications. However, the optimal path deviates from the saw-tooth path in shallow water conditions. This study focuses on finding more efficient gliding paths that can minimize the traverse time in the horizontal plane when the water depth is limited. The trajectory optimization problem is formulated into a minimum time control problem with inequality path constraints and hydrodynamic drag effects. A numerical approach based on the pseudo-spectral method is adopted as a solution approach, and the simulation results are presented.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.194-200
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• 2016

Recently, UUVs (unmanned underwater vehicles) have increasingly been applied in various science and engineering applications. In-water inspection, which used to be performed by human divers, is a potential application for UUVs. In particular, the operational safety and performance of in-water inspection missions can be greatly improved by using an underwater robotic vehicle. The capabilities of hovering maneuvers and automatic image mosaicking are essential for autonomous underwater visual inspection. This paper presents the development of a hover-capable autonomous underwater vehicle system for autonomous in-water inspection, which includes both a hardware platform and operational software algorithms. Some results from an experiment in a model basin are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the developed system and algorithms.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 2014

Due to its unmanned feature and some of being matured underwater technologies, UUV(Unmanned Undersea Vehicle) is increasingly considered as a utility player in today's battle-field. The operational benefit of submarine-based UUV operation could be enormous yet the integration challenges are significant, particularly for most of small conventionally-powered submarines. In this paper, we consider UUV operational methodology via the conventional submarine's torpedo tube. Two previous attempts having been done to retrieve the UUV through torpedo tube are reviewed, and their pros and cons are also analyzed. Then, an alternative option is proposed for UUV operation via torpedo tube. In addition, some of practical challenges are also discussed in the paper.

• IEMEK Journal of Embedded Systems and Applications
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.124-131
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• 2011

There are many researches in unmanned vehicles such as UGV(Unmanned Ground Vehicle), AUV(Autonomous Underwater Vehicle). In these researches, differential wheeled mobile robots are mainly used to develop the experimental stage algorithm because of the simplicity of modeling and control. Usually a commercial product used in the study, but in order to operate a commercial product to the restrictions because there would need to use a fixed protocol. Using the microprocessor makes the internal sensors(encoder and INS) and external sensors(ultrasonic sensors, infrared sensors) operate and to determine commands for robot operation. This paper propose a mobile robot design for suitable purpose.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.199-203
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• 2017

In this paper, we developed an underwater localization system for underwater robot docking using the electromagnetic wave attenuation model. Electromagnetic waves are generally known to be impossible to use in water environment. However, according to the conclusions of the previous studies on the attenuation characteristics in underwater, the attenuation pattern is uniform and its model was accurately proposed and verified in 3-dimensional space via the omnidirectional antenna. In this paper, a docking structure and localization sensor system are developed for a widely used cone type docking mechanism. First, we fabricated electromagnetic wave range sensor transmit modules. And a mobile sensor node is equipped with unmanned underwater vehicle(UUV)s. The mobile node senses the four different signal strength (RSS: Received Signal Strength) from fixed nodes, and the obtained RSS data are transformed to each distance information using the 3-Dimensional EM wave attenuation model. Then, the relative localization between the docking area and underwater robot can be achieved according to optimization algorithm. Finally, experimental results show the feasibility of the proposed localization system for the docking induction by comparing the errors in the actual position of the mobile node and the theoretical position through the model.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.358-368
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• 2015

Recently, unmanned systems are largely utilized in various fields due to the persistency and the least operational risk and an unmanned surface vehicle(USV) is the one of the representative application in the naval field. To assign multiple roles to an USV, we developed a sonar system which consists of a forward detecting sonar for the long-range detection, a downward detecting sonar for the small target scan and identification, and a strut type body for mounting sonar systems. In this paper, we described the developed sonar system for USV and the sea test results for verifying system performance. The test results showed that the developed sonar system was able to detect the underwater target about several kilometers away and could recognize a small object at the downside of the sonar system. We expect that the developed sonar system will be easily applied to other unmanned platforms without serious consideration.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.41-49
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• 2022

With the advancement of intelligent vehicles and unmanned systems, there is a growing interest in underwater surveys using autonomous marine vehicles (AMVs). This study presents an automated planning strategy for a long-term survey mission using a fleet of AMVs consisting of autonomous surface vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicles. Due to the complex nature of the mission, the actions of the vehicle must be of high-level abstraction, which means that the actions indicate not only motion of the vehicle but also symbols and semantics, such as those corresponding to deploy, charge, and survey. For automated planning, the planning domain definition language (PDDL) was employed to construct a mission planner for realizing a powerful and flexible planning system. Despite being able to handle abstract actions, such high-level planners have difficulty in efficiently optimizing numerical objectives such as obtaining the shortest route given multiple destinations. To alleviate this issue, a widely known technique in operations research was additionally employed, which limited the solution space so that the high-level planner could devise efficient plans. For a comprehensive evaluation of the proposed method, various PDDL-based planners with different parameter settings were implemented, and their performances were compared through simulation. The simulation result shows that the proposed method outperformed the baseline solutions by yielding plans that completed the missions more quickly, thereby demonstrating the efficacy of the proposed methodology.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.269-279
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• 2008

In this paper, an underwater navigation system with adaptive receding horizon Kalman filter (ARHKF) is studied. It is well known that incorrect statistical information and temporal disturbance invoke errors of any navigation systems with Kalman filter, which makes the autonomous navigation difficult in real underwater environment. In this context, two kinds of problems are herein considered. The first one is the development of an algorithm, which estimates the noise covariance of a linear discrete time-varying stochastic system. The second one is the implementation of ARHKF to underwater navigation systems. The performance of the derived estimation algorithm of noise covariance and the ARHKF are verified by simulation and experiment in the towing tank of Seoul National University.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.19 no.5 s.66
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• pp.71-77
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• 2005

This paper presents an integrated underwater navigational algorithm for unmanned underwater vehicles, using additional two-range transducers. This paper proposes a measurement model, using two range measurements, to improve the performance of an IMU-DVL (inertial measurement unit - Doppler velocity log) navigation system for long-time operation of underwater vehicles, excluding DVL measurement. Extended Kalman filter was adopted to propagate the error covariance, to update the measurement errors, and to correct the state equation when the external measurements are available. Simulation was conducted with the 6-d.o.f nonlinear numerical model of an AUV in lawn-mowing survey mode, at current flaw, where the velocity information is unavailable. Simulations illustrate the effectiveness of the integrated navigation system, assisted by the additional range measurements without DVL sensing.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.279-285
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• 2008

This study includes the efficiency assessment of a multiple access protocol for UUV (Underwater unmanned vehicle) control. Most of UUVs are controled by wire now; however, wireless control is demanded because of the demerit of the wire control that limits the place and activity. This study simulates efficiency of a standardization multiple access protocol (Pure ALOHA, Slotted ALOHA, Nonpersistent CSMA, Slotted Nonpersistent ISMA) formed for the purpose of performing wireless communication controlled by the ship or communication buoy at the sea surface and by the under water communication node at the bottom in order to efficiently control the UUV's. Results show that no significant changes occur related to changing type of the mother ship and the communication node; In addition, the Non-persistent CSMA and the Slotted Non-persistent ISMA show relatively high efficiency for underwater acoustic communication.