Underwater pipeline and cable inspection using autonomous underwater vehicles

To ensure their continuing integrity, the state of pipelines and cables needs to be monitored regularly. Divers, towfish ore remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs), which are traditionally used for cable & pipeline inspection, are time and human resources intensive. On the other hand, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) represent a tool with great benefits. Therefore, a reliable localization and robust tracking system is required and it is the focus of this paper. The developed system will be tested for its performance in different pipeline layout scenarios.