Binary Range Control for Multi-Vehicle AUV Operations: Field Validation of a Minimalist Approach

Coordinated multi-platform deployments are essential for comprehensive ocean observations, but present significant operational challenges. Managing relative positioning between assets is a central requirement for such deployments. This paper presents a binary control algorithm for range-based relative positioning between autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and other platforms. Our approach leverages the Long Range Autonomous Underwater Vehicle's (LRAUV) existing capabilities to implement a minimalist control scheme that adequately maintains desired range. The algorithm alternates between passive drifting when within a specified range band and active pursuit at constant speed when outside this band. We validate this approach through simulation and field trials in Monterey Bay across multiple operational scenarios. Results demonstrate effective range main-tenance for applications with moderate positioning requirements, while highlighting performance limitations when following fast-moving or complex trajectories. This implementation balances capability enhancement against development cost, operational complexity, and system reliability, demonstrating how strategic simplicity can produce sufficient operational capabilities with minimal overhead.