On the Relationship Between Forward-Looking Sonar Complexity and Best-Achievable Obstacle Avoidance Performance for AUVs

In this paper, we seek to evaluate how the number of sonar beams affects collision avoidance performance for a low-cost forward-looking sonar system for small AUVs. Our collision avoidance strategies are explicitly constructed to achieve a fair comparison between simulations with varying numbers of sonar beams. We employ rigorous Monte Carlo simulations to assess the advantages of increasing the number of sonar beams in the development of a sonar system tailored for collision avoidance in small AUVs. Simulations show significant improvement in collision avoidance performance for a multi-beam sonar when compared to a single-beam sonar, with incremental improvements as the number of beams increases.