GES tightly coupled attitude estimation based on a LBL/USBL positioning system

Typical attitude estimation solutions for underwater vehicles rely on magnetometers, which are prone to magnetic field distortions. This can preclude its use in intervention scenarios, in the vicinity of objects with strong magnetic signatures, severely endangering not only the intervention mission but also the operation of the underwater vehicle. This paper presents a novel attitude estimation solution, based on a combined Long Baseline / Ultra Short Baseline (LBL/USBL) acoustic positioning system, with application to underwater vehicles. The range and range differences of arrival obtained with the LBL/USBL are directly embedded in the estimator dynamics, without any linearization whatsoever, and globally exponentially stable (GES) error dynamics are achieved. Simulation results evidence good performance of the proposed solution.