In this paper, real time control of UUVs based on the feedback data received from a CCD camera is discussed and demonstrated using the test bed vehicle “The Twin-Burger”. From the results given in section 7, it can be seen that the vehicle had been controlled to keep the view of the cable (target) in the image. As a result, the vehicle is guided along the cable.
The algorithms developed are such that they can be implemented in small hardware systems which could be placed in pressure hulls of the underwater vehicles.
Using visual data in the feedback control loop of the UUV will increase the reliability of the UUV system.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Ship Research Institute, Japan for providing the space for the experiment and the Biwako Research Institute for providing images for the development of the cable tracking algorithms.
References
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