Coordination of autonomous underwater vehicles for acoustic image acquisition

Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks (UW-ASNs) consist of stationary sensors or Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) like propeller-driven vehicles and gliders that are equipped with sensors for performing collaborative monitoring tasks. In this paper, a task optimization framework for image acquisition using a fleet of underwater gliders and AUVs is proposed. The objective of the framework is to form the best possible team and to find the optimal trajectory to reach the selected target object. In this paper, the use of a team of underwater gliders and AUVs for acquiring still images of underwater objects is envisaged. Research specific to this area has been limited. Hence, a framework based on energy minimization for a team of gliders to complete the mission in given time bound is proposed. Further, performance of propeller-driven AUVs and gliders is compared to prove the energy efficiency of the gliders over AUVs for missions with large time bound.

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