Novel method for underwater navigation aiding using a companion underwater robot as a guiding platforms

This paper presents the results of multi-national collaboration during the sea trial held in the coastal waters of La Spezia, Italy, in the period 17 Oct. – 07 Nov. 2012. The trial was performed as one of the objectives of the program which has a goal to achieve the entire chain of Mine Countermeasures (MCM) using unmanned, robotic platforms. The focus of activities in this sea trial was to perform the last events of the mission: reacquisition, identification and intervention using a pair of collaborating underwater vehicles. The trial's objectives were to combine the expertise and robotic systems from different partners and achieve a mission of precise guiding of an inexpensive underwater vehicle to an underwater target using the navigation suite and control system of a more capable underwater vehicle. The objectives were accomplished and the researchers' opinion is that the extension to multi-vehicle cooperation (one leader guiding several agents, or followers) is feasible given the test results.