JP7222292B2 - Cruise control device, underwater vehicle, and cruise control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cruise control device, an underwater vehicle, and a cruise control method.

Techniques for performing acoustic communication between a surface station installed on water and an underwater station installed on the bottom of the water are known. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses that a marine station acquires latitude and longitude position information using a GPS receiver, and pre-acquired latitude, longitude and water depth position information of an underwater station. and the underwater station controls the direction of the beam used for acoustic communication with the marine station to point toward the marine station based on the position information notified from the marine station.

JP-A-2003-69509

By the way, for the purpose of surveying underwater (for example, in the sea, in lakes, in rivers, etc.) or on the bottom of water (for example, bottoms of seas, bottoms of lakes, bottoms of rivers, etc.), unmanned underwater vehicles that navigate autonomously are used. be. An underwater vehicle travels (divides) underwater along a predetermined route. Such underwater vehicles are managed by water vehicles that move on water. Surface vehicles use acoustic positioning to determine the position of the underwater vehicle. Further, by performing acoustic communication with the watercraft, the watercraft can grasp the position of the underwater vehicle.

Acoustic communication and acoustic positioning generally have directivity, enabling communication within a certain directional range. A certain directional range is defined by a directional angle in a spherical shape centered on the sound generating part of the acoustic communication device and the acoustic positioning device, and the directional angle varies depending on the device. Within the directional range, the probability of successful long-distance acoustic communication and acoustic positioning increases.

Since such underwater vehicles move over a wide area to explore the seabed, they often fall outside the acoustic communication and acoustic positioning range of the underwater vehicle. Therefore, it is necessary for the watercraft to move in accordance with the movement of the underwater vehicle, and to move within a directional range where acoustic communication and acoustic positioning with the underwater vehicle can be performed as much as possible. However, since the watercraft follows and moves along with the watercraft, an operator is required for the watercraft, and it is necessary to mount a propulsion device with a larger thrust than the watercraft. Also, the sound generated by the movement of the watercraft is a factor that interferes with acoustic communication and acoustic positioning. In addition, in shallow waters, the sound generated by the movement of the watercraft adversely affects the seafloor acoustic survey of the watercraft. Furthermore, when one watercraft manages a plurality of watercraft, it is difficult for the watercraft to move in accordance with the movement of each watercraft.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation control apparatus, an underwater vehicle, and a navigation control method capable of improving the probability of successful acoustic communication or acoustic positioning of an underwater vehicle with respect to an underwater vehicle. and

One aspect of the present invention is a navigation control device for controlling navigation of an underwater vehicle, comprising: a position estimating unit for estimating the position of the watercraft with respect to the underwater vehicle; The attitude control unit controls the attitude of the underwater vehicle relative to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimating unit, and the attitude control unit controls the position of the underwater vehicle relative to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimation unit. It is a cruise control device that controls the underwater attitude of an underwater vehicle so that it is included in one of the directivity ranges of acoustic positioning.

According to this configuration, in the navigation control device for controlling the navigation of the underwater vehicle, the position estimation unit estimates the position of the water vehicle with respect to the underwater vehicle, and the attitude control unit controls the underwater vehicle to The posture of the body in the water is controlled, and the position of the watercraft with respect to the watercraft estimated by the position estimation unit is adjusted by the attitude control unit for acoustic communication or acoustic positioning of the watercraft with respect to the watercraft. The underwater attitude of the underwater vehicle is controlled so as to be included in the pointing range. Therefore, the probability of successful acoustic communication or acoustic positioning of the underwater vehicle with respect to the surface vehicle can be improved.

In this case, the attitude control unit further includes a state acquisition unit that acquires the state of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning, and the attitude control unit acquires a state in which either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning is impossible by the state acquisition unit. In some cases, the underwater attitude of the underwater vehicle is controlled so that the position of the underwater vehicle relative to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimation unit is included in the directional range of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning. can do.

According to this configuration, when the state acquisition unit acquires the state of acoustic communication or acoustic positioning, and the state acquisition unit acquires the state in which acoustic communication or acoustic positioning is impossible, the attitude control unit performs position estimation. Because the underwater attitude of the underwater vehicle is controlled so that the position of the underwater vehicle relative to the underwater vehicle estimated by Even if positioning becomes impossible, the probability of re-successful acoustic communication or acoustic positioning of the underwater vehicle with respect to the watercraft can be improved.

In addition, the attitude control unit controls only the underwater roll angle of the underwater vehicle, thereby determining the position of the watercraft with respect to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimation unit by either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning. When it is possible to include it in one of the directivity ranges, the position of the watercraft relative to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimator is included in either the acoustic communication or the acoustic positioning range. Only the angles can be controlled.

According to this configuration, when the position of the watercraft can be included in the directional range of acoustic communication or acoustic positioning by controlling only the roll angle, only the roll angle is controlled by the attitude control unit. The probability of successful acoustic communication or positioning of the underwater vehicle relative to the surface vehicle can be improved without changing the bearing and depth of the medium vehicle.

In addition, the attitude control unit can include the position of the watercraft with respect to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimation unit in the directivity range of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning by controlling only the roll angle. By controlling only the underwater pitch angle of the underwater vehicle, the position of the watercraft relative to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimating unit can be obtained by either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning. When it is possible to include it in the pointing range, only the pitch angle is set so that the position of the watercraft relative to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimator is included in the pointing range of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning. and controlling only the pitch angle, it is impossible to include the position of the watercraft with respect to the watercraft estimated by the position estimator in the directivity range of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning. Yes, and by controlling only the roll angle and pitch angle, it is possible to include the position of the watercraft with respect to the watercraft estimated by the position estimator in the directivity range of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning. Sometimes, only the roll angle and the pitch angle can be controlled so that the position of the watercraft with respect to the watercraft estimated by the position estimator is included in the directional range of acoustic communication and acoustic positioning.

According to this configuration, it is impossible to include the position of the watercraft in the directional range of acoustic communication or acoustic positioning by controlling only the roll angle. When it can be included in the directional range of communication or acoustic positioning, only the pitch angle is controlled by the attitude control unit, so the depth of the underwater vehicle can be changed without changing the heading of the underwater vehicle. alone can improve the probability of successful acoustic communication or positioning of underwater vehicles to surface vehicles. In addition, it is impossible to include the position of the watercraft in the directional range of acoustic communication or acoustic positioning by controlling only the pitch angle. Or, when it is possible to include it in the directional range of acoustic positioning, only the roll angle and pitch angle are controlled by the attitude control unit, so the depth of the underwater vehicle can be adjusted without changing the heading of the underwater vehicle. A simple change can improve the probability of successful acoustic communication or positioning of an underwater vehicle with respect to a surface vehicle.

Another aspect of the present invention is an underwater vehicle equipped with the above-described cruise control device of one aspect of the present invention.

Another aspect of the present invention is a navigation control method for controlling navigation of an underwater vehicle, comprising a position estimation step of estimating the position of the watercraft with respect to the underwater vehicle; In the attitude control process, the position of the watercraft with respect to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimation process is adjusted to the sound of the underwater vehicle with respect to the watercraft. This is a cruise control method for controlling the underwater attitude of an underwater vehicle so as to be included in the directivity range of either communication or acoustic positioning.

According to the cruise control device of one aspect of the present invention, the underwater vehicle of the other aspect of the present invention, and the cruise control method of the other aspect of the present invention, acoustic communication or acoustic communication of the underwater vehicle with respect to the surface vehicle is provided. The probability of successful positioning can be improved.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an underwater vehicle and a surface vehicle according to an embodiment; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a cruise control device according to an embodiment; FIG. (A) is a diagram showing a longitudinal directivity range of the underwater vehicle, and (B) is a diagram showing a horizontal directivity range of the underwater vehicle. 4 is a flowchart showing steps of a cruise control method according to the embodiment; FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing detailed steps of the posture control process of FIG. 4; FIG. (A) is a diagram showing a situation in which the position of the watercraft with respect to the underwater vehicle can be included in the pointing range by controlling only the roll angle, and (B) is a diagram showing the situation in (A). FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which only the roll angle is controlled so that the position of the watercraft with respect to the underwater vehicle is included in the pointing range; (A) is a diagram showing a situation in which the position of the watercraft relative to the underwater vehicle can be included in the pointing range by controlling only the pitch angle, and (B) in the situation of (A). FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which only the pitch angle is controlled so that the position of the watercraft with respect to the underwater vehicle is included in the pointing range;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the cruise control device, underwater vehicle, and cruise control method according to the present embodiment include at least one underwater cruise vehicle such as an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). It is applied in a situation where underwater W is surveyed by the body 10, an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) that manages the underwater vehicle 10, and a water vehicle 20 such as a work boat. be. In this embodiment, as an example, a case in which three underwater vehicles 10 and one watercraft 20 are used to investigate underwater W will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the underwater vehicle 10 is an unmanned vehicle that autonomously navigates underwater, and performs some action underwater or on the bottom of the water while traveling along a predetermined route. has the function of An underwater vehicle 10 includes an acoustic communication device 11 and an acoustic positioning device 12 . The acoustic communication device 11 is configured to be able to transmit and receive information to and from the acoustic communication device 21 of the watercraft 20 by acoustic communication. The acoustic communication device 11 may be, for example, a transmitter/receiver (transceiver) including a transmitter that transmits sound waves into water and a receiver that receives sound waves (reflected waves). A communicable range of the acoustic communication device 11 can be, for example, about 200 m to 1000 m.

The acoustic positioning device 12 is configured to be able to instantaneously return the pulse sound transmitted from the acoustic positioning device 22 of the watercraft 20 . Acoustic positioning device 12 is, for example, a transponder. The format of the acoustic positioning device 12 provided in each underwater vehicle 10 is changed according to the positioning method of the acoustic positioning device 22 provided in the watercraft 20 . Also, if the acoustic positioning device 12 is unnecessary, it may be omitted.

As for the timing at which the acoustic communication by the acoustic communication device 11 and the acoustic positioning by the acoustic positioning device 12 are performed, due to the nature of using sound waves, there is a tendency to avoid constant communication and simultaneous communication because of crosstalk. Therefore, in this embodiment, for example, within one minute, acoustic communication is performed for 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 seconds, and for 5, 15, 25, and 35 seconds. , 45 s and 55 s acoustic positioning is performed. In other words, the acoustic communication and the acoustic positioning are performed with different timings and intervals. Note that when devices with significantly different frequency bands are used, constant communication and simultaneous communication may be performed in acoustic communication and acoustic positioning.

As shown in FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B), the acoustic communication device 11 and the acoustic positioning device 12 enable communication within a certain directivity range R. FIG. A certain directional range R is defined by a directional angle in a spherical shape centered on the sound generating portion of the acoustic communication device 11 and the acoustic positioning device 12, and the directional angle varies depending on the device. Within the directivity range R, the probability of successful long-distance acoustic communication and acoustic positioning is high.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the underwater vehicle 10 includes a navigation control device 100 that controls navigation of the underwater vehicle 10 . The hardware of the cruise control device 100 is composed of, for example, one or more control computers. Hardware includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory) as main memory, communication modules that communicate with other devices, and auxiliary storage devices such as hard disks. Configured as a computer with hardware. By operating these constituent elements, the functions of the cruise control device 100, which will be described later, are exhibited.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the cruise control device 100 includes a state acquisition section 101 , a position estimation section 102 and an attitude control section 103 . The state acquisition unit 101 acquires the state of either acoustic communication by the acoustic communication device 11 or acoustic positioning by the acoustic positioning device 12 . The state of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning means the result of whether the acoustic communication and acoustic positioning performed every 10 seconds as described above were possible or not.

The position estimator 102 estimates the position of the watercraft 20 with respect to the underwater vehicle 10 . The position estimator 102 estimates the position of the watercraft 20 relative to the underwater vehicle 10 based on information obtained from the most recent possible acoustic communication by the acoustic communication device 11 and acoustic positioning by the acoustic positioning device 12 .

In addition, the position estimating unit 102 uses the inertial navigation system 13 mounted on the underwater vehicle 10 when acoustic communication and acoustic positioning are possible and when acoustic communication and acoustic positioning are not possible. The position of the surface vehicle 20 relative to the underwater vehicle 10 is estimated by obtaining ten inertial navigation positions. The inertial navigation system 13 estimates the inertial navigation position of the underwater vehicle 10 by integrating the acceleration of the underwater vehicle 10 . In addition, the underwater vehicle 10 has a predetermined route, time, and navigation when acoustic communication and acoustic positioning are possible and when acoustic communication and acoustic positioning are not possible. The position of the watercraft 20 relative to the underwater vehicle 10 is estimated by acquiring the position of the watercraft 10 based on the history of the watercraft 10 .

The attitude control unit 103 controls the attitude of the underwater vehicle 10 in the water W. The attitude of the underwater vehicle 10 in the water W means, for example, the roll angle, pitch angle, and yaw angle of the underwater vehicle 10 in the water W. The attitude control unit 103 controls the attitude of the underwater vehicle 10 in the water W by operating attitude controllers 14 such as thrusters, rudders and ballast tanks mounted on the underwater vehicle 10 in response to command signals. .

The attitude control unit 103 determines whether the position of the watercraft 20 with respect to the underwater vehicle 10 estimated by the position estimation unit 102 is oriented to the watercraft 20 by either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning. The attitude of the underwater vehicle 10 in the water W is controlled so that it is included in the range R. In this embodiment, the attitude control unit 103 controls the position of the underwater vehicle 10 estimated by the position estimation unit 102 when the state acquisition unit 101 acquires a state in which either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning is impossible. The attitude of the underwater vehicle 10 in the water W is controlled so that the position of the watercraft 20 relative to is included in the directivity range R of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning. In this embodiment, the attitude control by the attitude control unit 103 is performed only when the acoustic communication and the acoustic positioning cannot be performed for a certain time, and is performed to prevent the underwater vehicle 10 from being lost.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the watercraft 20 is a watercraft that autonomously navigates on water, and has a function of managing the watercraft 10 . The watercraft 20 includes an acoustic communication device 21 and an acoustic positioning device 22 . The acoustic communication device 21 is configured to be able to transmit and receive information with the acoustic communication device 11 of the underwater vehicle 10 by acoustic communication. The configuration of the acoustic communication device 21 may be the same as that of the acoustic communication device 11 of the underwater vehicle 10 .

The acoustic positioning device 22 may be configured, for example, to acquire the relative position of the underwater vehicle 10 with respect to the underwater vehicle 20 . The acoustic positioning device 22 can be, for example, an SSBL (Super Short Base Line) positioning system. The SSBL positioning system can measure the relative position of the underwater vehicle 10 by periodically transmitting a pulse sound underwater and receiving the return echoes of the pulse sound with at least three acoustic sensors. is. The range in which positioning by the acoustic positioning device 22 is possible may be, for example, about 1.5 to 20 times the communicable range by the acoustic communication device 21, or may be about 300 m to 6000 m. The acoustic positioning device 22 may be of any type and positioning method as long as it can detect the position of the underwater vehicle 10 to be monitored.

The operations of the cruise control device 100 and the underwater vehicle 10 of this embodiment, and the cruise control method for controlling the cruise of the underwater vehicle 10 of this embodiment will be described below. As shown in FIG. 4, acoustic communication and acoustic positioning are started by the acoustic communication device 11 and the acoustic positioning device 12 of the underwater vehicle 10 and the acoustic communication device 21 and the acoustic positioning device 22 of the watercraft 20. (S1). The position estimating section 102 of the navigation control device 100 performs a position estimating step of estimating the position of the watercraft 20 with respect to the underwater vehicle 10 (S2). The state acquisition unit 101 of the cruise control device 100 performs a state acquisition step of acquiring the state of either the acoustic communication or the acoustic positioning for each of the acoustic communication and the acoustic positioning performed every 10 seconds as described above. (S3).

A state acquisition process is performed as follows. When either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning is not impossible (S4), the number of trials of acoustic communication or acoustic positioning after either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning becomes impossible is set to n=0 (S5 ), and the steps S1 to S4 are repeated. When either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning is impossible, and the number of attempts of acoustic communication or acoustic positioning after either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning becomes impossible, n exceeds an arbitrary threshold value N If not (S6), 1 is added to the number of trials n of acoustic communication or acoustic positioning after either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning becomes impossible (S7), and the above steps S1 to S4 are repeated. be

When either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning is impossible, and the number of attempts of acoustic communication or acoustic positioning after either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning becomes impossible, n exceeds an arbitrary threshold value N (S6), the position of the watercraft 20 with respect to the watercraft 10 estimated by the position estimation unit 102 is changed by the attitude control unit 103 of the navigation control device 100 to the position of the watercraft 20 relative to the watercraft 20. It is determined whether it is included in the directivity range R of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning of the body 10 (S8).

For example, from the position of the underwater vehicle 10 and the watercraft 20 for which acoustic communication or acoustic positioning was possible most recently, the time when acoustic communication or acoustic positioning became impossible, and the current time, the underwater navigation Whether the position of the watercraft 20 relative to the watercraft 10 at the current time is included in the pointing range R by estimating the distance and range in which the watercraft 10 and the watercraft 20 can move. is determined.

When the position of the watercraft 20 with respect to the watercraft 10 is included in the pointing range R (S8), the steps S1 to S8 are repeated. When the position of the watercraft 20 relative to the underwater vehicle 10 is not included in the pointing range R (S8), the attitude control unit 103 of the navigation control device 100 controls the position of the underwater vehicle 10 in the water W. An attitude control step is performed to control the attitude (S9). In the attitude control process, the position of the watercraft 20 with respect to the underwater vehicle 10 estimated in the position estimation process is within the pointing range R of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning of the watercraft 10 with respect to the watercraft 20. , the attitude of the underwater vehicle 10 in the water W is controlled.

Details of the attitude control process will be described below. As shown in FIGS. 5, 6A, and 6B, by controlling only the roll angle of the underwater vehicle 10 in the water W, the position estimating unit 102 estimates the underwater cruising speed. When the position of the watercraft 20 relative to the body 10 can be included in the directivity range R of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning (S91), the attitude control unit 103 adjusts the position of the water vehicle 20 estimated by the position estimation unit 102. Only the roll angle is controlled so that the position of the surface vehicle 20 with respect to the medium vehicle 10 is included in the directivity range R of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning (S92).

As shown in FIGS. 5, 7A, and 7B, the position of the surface vehicle 20 relative to the underwater vehicle 10 estimated by the position estimator 102 by controlling only the roll angle cannot be included in the directivity range R of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning (S91), and by controlling only the pitch angle of the underwater vehicle 10 in the water W, the position estimation unit 102 estimates If it is possible to include the position of the surface water vehicle 20 with respect to the underwater vehicle 10 thus obtained in the directivity range R of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning (S93), the attitude control unit 103 causes the position estimation unit 102 Only the pitch angle is controlled so that the position of the watercraft 20 with respect to the watercraft 10 estimated by is included in the directivity range R of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning (S94).

By controlling only the pitch angle, it is impossible to include the position of the watercraft 20 with respect to the underwater vehicle 10 estimated by the position estimator 102 in the directivity range R of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning. Yes (S93), by controlling only the roll angle and the pitch angle, the position of the watercraft 20 with respect to the watercraft 10 estimated by the position estimator 102 is set to the directivity range of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning. If it can be included in R (S95), the attitude control unit 103 determines that the position of the watercraft 20 relative to the underwater vehicle 10 estimated by the position estimation unit 102 is within the directional range R of acoustic communication and acoustic positioning. Only the roll angle and pitch angle are controlled (S96).

By controlling only the roll angle and the pitch angle, the position of the watercraft 20 relative to the underwater vehicle 10 estimated by the position estimator 102 can be included in the directivity range R of either acoustic communication or acoustic positioning. When it is impossible (S95), the attitude control unit 103 controls the yaw angle of the underwater vehicle 10 in the water W, the course of the underwater vehicle, and the depth of the underwater vehicle (S97). .

As shown in FIG. 4, when the state acquisition unit 101 determines that acoustic communication and acoustic positioning are possible (S10), the attitude control unit 103 ends the processing. When the state acquisition unit 101 determines that acoustic communication and acoustic positioning are not possible (S10), the number c of attitude control of the underwater vehicle 10 by the attitude control unit 103 is set to an arbitrary threshold value C (S11), 1 is added to the number c (S12), and the state acquisition unit 101, the position estimation unit 102, and the attitude control unit 103 repeat the processing of S9 to S12. When the number c of attitude control of the underwater vehicle 10 by the attitude control unit 103 exceeds an arbitrary threshold value C (S11), the attitude control unit 103 controls the underwater vehicle 10 to prevent loss of the underwater vehicle. The running body 10 is floated.

According to this embodiment, the position estimator 102 of the navigation control device 100 for controlling the navigation of the underwater vehicle 10 estimates the position of the watercraft 20 with respect to the underwater vehicle 10, and performs attitude control. The posture of the underwater vehicle 10 in the water W is controlled by the unit 103, and the position of the water vehicle 20 relative to the underwater vehicle 10 estimated by the position estimation unit 102 is adjusted by the attitude control unit 103. The attitude of the underwater vehicle 10 in the water W is controlled so as to be included in the directivity range R of acoustic communication or acoustic positioning of the underwater vehicle 10 with respect to the body 20 . Therefore, the probability of successful acoustic communication or acoustic positioning of the underwater vehicle 10 with respect to the water vehicle 20 can be improved.

Further, according to the present embodiment, when the state of acoustic communication or acoustic positioning is acquired by the state acquisition unit 101 and the state in which acoustic communication or acoustic positioning is not possible is acquired by the state acquisition unit 101, attitude control is performed. In the underwater W of the underwater vehicle 10, the position of the underwater vehicle 20 estimated by the position estimating unit 102 is included in the directivity range R of acoustic communication or acoustic positioning. Since the attitude of the underwater vehicle 10 is controlled, even if acoustic communication or acoustic positioning becomes impossible, it is possible to improve the probability of succeeding again in the acoustic communication or acoustic positioning of the underwater vehicle 10 with respect to the watercraft 20. .

Conventionally, the attitude control of the underwater vehicle 10 has been performed for attitude stabilization and depth change. It is to be obtained. That is, conventionally, one of the underwater vehicle 10 and the watercraft 20 outside the pointing range R had to move into the pointing range R, but in the present embodiment, the underwater vehicle 10 Communication is possible only by changing the posture. Even an acoustic communication device with a beam forming function as in Patent Document 1 above cannot perform acoustic communication outside the directional range inherent to the device. beamforming is substantially possible.

According to this embodiment, by controlling the attitude of the underwater vehicle 10 at a location where the underwater vehicle 10 is far away from the water vehicle 20, the probability of successful acoustic communication and acoustic positioning is improved, The accuracy of self-position estimation of the underwater vehicle 10 is improved by exchanging information with the underwater vehicle. Even if the self-position estimation accuracy of the underwater vehicle 10 deteriorates and an unexpected operation of the underwater vehicle 10 occurs, the probability of success of regular acoustic communication is improved, so that the underwater vehicle 10 less likely to lose

In addition, since there is no need to move the watercraft 20, noise from the propellers of the watercraft 20 does not occur, and the probability of successful acoustic communication and acoustic positioning is improved. Also, when operating a plurality of underwater vehicles 10, the watercraft 20 and work for monitoring each underwater vehicle 10 are not required. Therefore, it becomes possible to operate a plurality of underwater vehicles 10 with one watercraft 20 . In addition to the watercraft 20, when a plurality of fixed base stations are provided as information bases, the searchable range can be expanded and the number of information bases can be reduced.

Further, according to the present embodiment, when the position of the watercraft 20 can be included in the directional range R of acoustic communication or acoustic positioning by controlling only the roll angle, the attitude control unit 103 controls only the roll angle. Because it is controlled, the probability of successful acoustic communication or acoustic positioning of the underwater vehicle 10 with respect to the water vehicle 20 can be improved without changing the bearing and depth of the underwater vehicle 10 .

Further, according to the present embodiment, it is impossible to include the position of the watercraft 20 in the directional range R of acoustic communication or acoustic positioning by controlling only the roll angle, and it is impossible to include the position of the watercraft 20 in the directional range R by controlling only the pitch angle. When the position of the body 20 can be included in the directional range R of acoustic communication or acoustic positioning, only the pitch angle is controlled by the attitude control unit 103. Therefore, without changing the bearing of the underwater vehicle 10, The probability of successful acoustic communication or acoustic positioning of the underwater vehicle 10 with respect to the underwater vehicle 20 can be improved simply by changing the depth of the underwater vehicle 10 . Further, it is impossible to include the position of the watercraft 20 in the directional range R of acoustic communication or acoustic positioning by controlling only the pitch angle, and the position of the watercraft 20 cannot be included by controlling only the roll angle and the pitch angle. can be included in the directional range R of acoustic communication or acoustic positioning, only the roll angle and pitch angle are controlled by the attitude control unit 103, so that The probability of successful acoustic communication or acoustic positioning of the underwater vehicle 10 with respect to the surface vehicle 20 can be improved simply by changing the depth of the medium vehicle 10 .

Although attitude changes for acoustic communication and acoustic positioning are not ideal for navigation of the underwater vehicle 10, the underwater vehicle 10 navigates along a predetermined route. It doesn't have much of an impact on that. In other words, even if the attitude is changed for acoustic communication and acoustic positioning, the underwater vehicle 10 can sail along the predetermined route.

Since the purpose of navigation of the underwater vehicle 10 is, for example, exploration of the seabed, the change in attitude of the underwater vehicle 10 may cause the purpose to be temporarily unattained. However, such an unattainment of the purpose is expected because it occurs similarly when the underwater vehicle 10 makes a normal turn and when the attitude changes due to a temporary change in the flow of the underwater W. . As a hardware countermeasure for reducing the influence of the attitude change on the exploration sensor, for example, changing the direction of the exploration sensor according to the attitude of the underwater vehicle 10 is conceivable. In addition, measures by software to reduce the influence of attitude changes on the probe sensor are taken only when attitude control cannot be performed for an arbitrary period of time such as acoustic communication and acoustic positioning, as in the present embodiment. can also be achieved by

Although the embodiments and modifications of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, attitude control by the attitude control unit 103 may be performed at any timing when acoustic communication and acoustic positioning are required regardless of the state of acoustic communication and acoustic positioning. Further, for example, when the underwater vehicle 10 completely loses its own position due to a malfunction of a device such as a sensor, the attitude control unit 103 randomly changes the attitude of the underwater vehicle 10 in the water W. It is conceivable that the submersible vehicle 10 continues its cruising by supplementing its own position.

10 Underwater Vehicle 11 Acoustic Communication Device 12 Acoustic Positioning Device 13 Inertial Navigation System 14 Attitude Controller 20 Watercraft 21 Acoustic Communication Device 22 Acoustic Positioning Device 100 Navigation Control Device 101 State Acquisition Section 102 Position Estimation Section 103 Attitude Control Part W Underwater R Directional range S2 Position estimation step S9 Attitude control step

Claims (5)

A navigation control device for controlling navigation of an underwater vehicle,
a position estimating unit for estimating the position of the watercraft with respect to the watercraft;
an attitude control unit that controls the underwater attitude of the underwater vehicle;
with
The attitude control unit controls only the underwater roll angle of the underwater vehicle, thereby adjusting the position of the surface vehicle with respect to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimation unit. When it is possible to include the position of the underwater vehicle with respect to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimating unit when it is possible to include it in the directional range of either the acoustic communication or the acoustic positioning of the underwater vehicle with respect to the body A cruise control device that controls only the roll angle so as to be included in the directional range of either the acoustic communication or the acoustic positioning . further comprising a state acquisition unit that acquires the state of one of the acoustic communication and the acoustic positioning;
The attitude control unit controls the position of the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimation unit when the state acquisition unit acquires a state in which either the acoustic communication or the acoustic positioning is impossible. 2. The navigation control device according to claim 1, wherein the underwater attitude of the underwater vehicle is controlled so that the position of the vehicle is included in the directional range of either the acoustic communication or the acoustic positioning. . The attitude control unit
By controlling only the roll angle, the position of the watercraft relative to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimator can be included in the directivity range of either the acoustic communication or the acoustic positioning. By controlling only the underwater pitch angle of the underwater vehicle, the position of the watercraft relative to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimating unit is obtained by the acoustic communication and the When it can be included in the directional range of any of the acoustic positioning, the position of the watercraft with respect to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimating unit is either the acoustic communication or the acoustic positioning. controlling only the pitch angle so as to be included in the directional range of
By controlling only the pitch angle, the position of the watercraft relative to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimator can be included in the pointing range of either the acoustic communication or the acoustic positioning. By controlling only the roll angle and the pitch angle, the position of the watercraft relative to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimator can be determined by either the acoustic communication or the acoustic positioning. When it is possible to include it in the directional range, the position of the watercraft with respect to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimator is included in the directional range of the acoustic communication and the acoustic positioning. 3. The cruise control device according to claim 1 , wherein only said roll angle and said pitch angle are controlled so as to control said roll angle and said pitch angle. An underwater vehicle equipped with the cruise control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . A cruise control method for controlling the cruise of an underwater vehicle,
a position estimating step of estimating the position of the watercraft relative to the underwater vehicle;
an attitude control step of controlling the underwater attitude of the underwater vehicle;
with
In the attitude control step, by controlling only the underwater roll angle of the underwater vehicle, the position of the surface vehicle relative to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimation step is adjusted to the position of the surface vehicle in the water cruise. When it is possible to include the position of the underwater vehicle relative to the underwater vehicle estimated by the position estimation step when it can be included in the directional range of either the acoustic communication or the acoustic positioning of the underwater vehicle relative to the body A navigation control method , wherein only the roll angle is controlled so as to be included in the directional range of either the acoustic communication or the acoustic positioning .

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