Distance Measuring Under Water

The technology for measuring the distance under water, which uses simultaneous emission of an acoustic wave and modulated optical radiation is considered. For the forming an acoustic wave and a modulating signal, the same signal of low frequency and high stability is used. By changing the frequency of a low-frequency signal and according to known formulas it is possible to determine the distance under water with high accuracy. The replacement of the magnetic channel of reference signal transmission with an optical one proposed in the paper gives a significant reduction in the weight and size of the elements of the reference channel on the one hand. On the other hand, the energy of the reference channel at short measured distances is significantly improved, which makes it possible to install a distance measurement system on autonomous underwater vehicles of any class if it is necessary to organize their automatic berthing