Dual-eyes vision-based docking experiment of AUV for sea bottom battery recharging

This paper presents docking experiments for AUV using stereo vision for sea bottom battery recharging application. Real-time 3D pose tracking system was installed in AUV “Tuna-Sand 2”. Underwater battery recharging unit with unidirectional docking function was simulated in a pool. Tuna-Sand 2 approached to the docking station using other sensors and docking operation was performed by visual servoing when a 3D marker was detected. Experimental results showed the performance of the proposed system with accurate docking accuracy in a short time.