Research on Control Methods for AUV Recovery From an Ice Hole

During the use of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for exploration beneath extensive ice floes, the AUV necessitates deployment through an ice hole. Upon mission completion, the AUV has to be recovered autonomously through the same ice hole. The autonomous control method for this recovery process is of paramount importance. This paper demonstrates two innovative control strategies: remote homing control and proximal ice hole recovery control, based on an AUV's near-ice dynamics model. For remote homing control, a velocity vector synthesis approach was implemented to design heading guidance, combining velocity, heading, and depth controllers to accomplish the path-tracking control of an AUV. During proximal recovery maneuvers, a PID controller actuates vertical and lateral tunnel thrusters and the aft thruster to achieve precise horizontal alignment relative to the ice holes. Based on the “Wukong 1000” AUV, the control method was validated in the Songhua Lake under the winter ice conditions in Jilin Province, North China, at the beginning of 2024.