LOON-DOCK: AUV homing and docking for high-bandwidth data transmission

Persistent deployment of underwater assets holds the key to achieve consistent, long-term undersea monitoring. To advance in that direction, the LOON-DOCK project aims to demonstrate remote AUV operation and survey data transmission through the Internet using an underwater docking station. We present a funnel-shaped docking station equipped with a contactless high bandwidth link and the necessary equipment to enable autonomous homing and docking by combining acoustic and optical sensing. The proposed combination, using a range-only localization at far distances and a light beacon localization at short ranges ensures a reliable strategy enabled with low-cost equipment and minimal requirements on both the vehicle and the dock sides. Moreover, remote operation is demonstrated by integrating the system in a unified web interface to control underwater assets, thus allowing a user to operate the AUV remotely through Internet. The full system has been successfully validated with tests conducted in a harbor environment.