Motion simulator for an underwater glider for long-term virtual mooring including real devices in loop

We present an outline of a motion simulator for the prototype underwater glider “Tsukuyomi”. The project goal is the development of an underwater glider for long-term virtual mooring. When developing control software and debugging it, a motion simulator of the glider is necessary to confirm the software reliability and to improve the development efficiency. The main part of the motion simulator is installed in a PC and communicates with the Tsukuyomi central computer via LAN. It receives the glider status and simulates the dynamic motion of the glider. Then it returns the simulated result including updated depth, pitching and heading to the main controller. Consequently, it provides a virtual environment in which the glider operates.