Diver relative AUV navigation for joint human-robot operations

A novel application for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) is considered here: a robotic diver assistant that enables close-quarters robotic operations with human divers. A robotic diver assistant has the potential to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and safety of diver operations. The robot diver assistant must share the operating environment with human divers: the robot must navigate relative to the environment to reach a specified site location (along with moving divers), then maneuver among the mostly static divers as they perform their tasks on location. Strategies for navigating among divers while ensuring diver safety are presented in this paper. A reactive strategy, based on potential fields, is investigated with a deliberative approach that accounts for process and environmental disturbances, as well as measurement noise. The deliberative approach is based on the Partially Closed-Loop Receding Horizon Control method. Accounting for such uncertainties is required for close-quarter operations due to the challenges associated with underwater navigation and sensing.