Iceberg Profiling Autonomy Using Elliptical Trajectories

In this work, autonomy is developed for an uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) equipped with a multi-beam sonar to perform precise profiling maneuvers to map underwater iceberg topography using a novel method involving elliptical trajectories. Given a general estimate of the profile, elliptical survey swathes are generated at various depths based on vehicle, sensor, and mission constraints, and these trajectories are implemented in an iceberg-centric coordinate frame to incorporate iceberg drift and rotational motion. Finally, autonomy and guidance methods are developed and implemented for the vehicle to track these trajectories and complete the profiling mission. The developed system is tested in a simulation environment using 4-degree of freedom dynamics for a variety of realistic iceberg profiles using point-cloud representations to validate performance, practicality, and robustness.