AUV Sim 2



AUV Sim was developed to provide a solution to the problem of designing and optimising the control system for autonomous or remotely operated submarines.

The AUV simulator models the motion of the vehicle in six degrees of freedom and can be configured to simulate a particular vehicle, via an intuitive user interface. A particular aspect of this simulator is the emphasis placed on using simulation throughout the process of designing an AUV and developing the vehicle controller.

A range of autopilots algorithms has been developed for various operational tasks. Using the simulator, these autopilots can be optimised for a particular vehicle, without leaving the laboratory.

The provision of an efficient communications protocol means that AUV Sim can be used as the remote control and monitoring system during trials. This is also useful during the testing phase, when the vehicle can be controlled and monitored by one session of AUV Sim, sending messages directly to the actuators or to the on-board autopilot, whilst a second parallel session takes the actuator positions and calculates the resulting motion of the vehicle.

In summary, AUV Sim includes:

  • Realistic six degree of freedom simulation, including:
    • User - configurability, allowing user to position and specify properties of vehicle components,
    • Performance of actuators and static bodies,
    • Environmental effects, including tide and sea-state,
    • Wave response model: The motions are calculated via the shape of the sea surface as well as the vehicle's velocity with respect to the waves. A user interface dialog allows the amplitudes of response to be scaled independently for surge, sway and yaw.
  • Control algorithms to optimally control the actuators to perform a chosen task, including waypoint following and dynamic positioning;
  • Auto-tuning algorithms to optimise the performance of the controllers for the specific vehicle;
  • Digital serial communications - allowing AUV Sim to be used to remote control and monitor a vehicle;
  • Analogue input - for example, from external console, or input from measurement of actuator position;
  • Simple, intuitive, user interface and fully configurable communications.

An autopilot controller board, incorporating the controller algorithms, was developed in collaboration between H Scientific and Chelsea Technologies Group. The Spectre Processor Board provides 3D control for an underwater vehicle and is capable of communicating with AUV Sim in its role as a remote control workstation.

Applications include:

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