Nautical Chart Awareness for Autonomous Surface Vehicles

TitleNautical Chart Awareness for Autonomous Surface Vehicles
Publication TypeConference Proceedings
Year2016
AuthorsReed, S, Schmidt, V
Conference Name2016 Canadian Hydrographic Conference
Conference DatesMay 16-19
PublisherCanadian Hydrographic Association
Conference LocationHalifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Keywordsasv, autonomy, ENC, MOOS-IvP, Robots

There is great potential for the use of Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASVs) in seafloor mapping, given their ability to increase survey efficiency. In order to efficiently function in an unstructured environment, robots must be able to use their sensory information to make short and long term decisions. To accomplish important tasks such as avoiding obstacles, advanced path planning, and determining what obstacles from the Electronic Nautical Charts (ENCs) are in the field of view of the sensor, it is advantageous for the ASV to be able to read and understand the information from ENCs and make decisions as a human mariner would. The data from the ENCs will be used to populate a special database, which will be made available to a system that monitors the current and planned trajectory. This system uses the ENC database and the current and planned trajectory to give guidance to the helm to help make chart-informed navigation decisions. Furthermore, the ENC’s data will also help the ASV place its measurements into a reference base which allows the ASV to achieve a higher level of autonomy.

Region