List of abbreviations.

Introduction.

1. Questions of terminology and classification.

2. Historical background.

2.1. Development of MRI abroad.

2.2. Development of domestic MRI.

3. Features and prospects of the applied technologies.

3.1. Communication and interaction.

3.2. Navigation.

3.3. Movers.

4. The use of MRI for military purposes.

5. Application of MRI in offshore operations.

6. Wireless sensor networks and their application at sea.

7. Communities of interacting robots

8. Marine robotics + augmented reality.

Conclusion.

Literature.

Applications. Appendix 1. "Catalog of domestic and foreign TNLA". Appendix 2. "Catalog of domestic and foreign AUVs".

List of abbreviations.

AUV - autonomous unmanned underwater vehicle

TNPA - remotely controlled unmanned underwater vehicle

INS - inertial navigation system

HANS - hydroacoustic navigation system

HANS DB - HANS long base

HANS KB - HANS short base

HANS UKB - HANS with ultrashort base

NPA - unmanned underwater vehicle

PPA - receiving and transmitting antenna

OPA - manned underwater vehicle

AR (augmented reality) - augmented reality

AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle) - autonomous underwater vehicle

ROV (remotely operated vehicle) - a remotely controlled vehicle (moving)

SAUV (sun autonomous underwater vehicle) - AUV on a solar battery

UUV (Unmanned Underwater Vehicle) - unmanned underwater vehicle

USV (Unmanned Surface Vehicle) - unmanned surface vehicle

UXV (Unmanned Generic Vehicle) - an unmanned vehicle of the general (any) class

Introduction

If you lost a needle in a haystack as a child, you will find it, at best, by the time you retire. But if the inhabitants of the nearest anthill are mobilized to solve this problem, then the needle will be brought to you in two minutes. Checked more than once. If it was not possible to agree with the ants, then students of a technical university who are keen on robotics can be attracted. They are quite capable of creating a group of miniature devices equipped with magnetic sensors that can move and interact with each other. The creation of robots that can interact with each other in order to most effectively solve the task at hand is a new direction in the development of robotics, called "flock robots", whose apologists promise a revolution in solving many laborious tasks. Packing robots will be discussed in the penultimate chapter of our review. By the way, if flock robots are deprived of the ability to move, then we will move on to another, also promising, but preceding them in time, scientific and practical topic - to the topic of wireless sensor networks.

Interesting practical results have already been achieved in this area. We will present the principles of construction and examples of the implementation of networks in the 6th chapter of the review.

In the meantime, it's time to remember that our review is devoted to the application of robotics specifically at sea, and not on land or in the skies, i.e. you have to imagine finding a needle not in a haystack, but on an algae plantation, which will seem like a more laborious task. In water, Wi-Fi practically does not work, the propagation of electromagnetic waves is extremely difficult, it is difficult to use an optical channel, i.e. issues of communication, interaction, navigation, observation, etc. acquire their own, purely maritime specifics. The third chapter of the review is devoted to the peculiarities of the implementation of communication, interaction, navigation, propellers, sensors and manipulators in marine robots.

Modern robotic systems are used in almost all areas of underwater engineering. However, the main spheres of their application are: military, work on the extraction and transportation of fuel and raw materials, search and rescue operations and oceanographic research. The peculiarities of their use in these areas and examples of their application can be found in 4 - 5 chapters of the review. It is in these areas that the greatest progress has been achieved in recent years in terms of the application of new communication and navigation technologies for underwater vehicles, equipping with new sensors and manipulators, and improving the efficiency of control and maintenance. The Appendix contains a catalog of modern TNLA and AUV.

So why don't we see robots in the fields of the country looking for needles in stacks? Because no one set such tasks for them. Apparently the needles are no longer lost. Seriously speaking, setting tasks, developing scenarios for the use of robotics in solving practical problems, including taking into account the prospects for the development of this area, is the most important organizational task. No wonder, in the Pentagon's plans for the coming years, projects to develop concepts for the use of robotics in the army are given the same importance as projects to develop the robots themselves. Moreover, they have priority, as they are able to give impetus and determine the direction of the design of robotic systems. We will present our proposals on this issue and other problems of the development of marine robotics (MRI) in Russia in the Conclusion to this review.

The development of the depths of the World Ocean is a task no less difficult and dangerous than the development of outer space. And even more priority in terms of economic and environmental importance. In solving this problem, marine robotics is called upon to play the role of not just a human assistant, but a full-fledged participant, since it should not only make the depths of the ocean more accessible and safe for humans, but shoulder the bulk of the work on their study and development.

1. Questions of terminology and classification.

In the field of marine robotics, no unified generally accepted terminology has yet been developed. Some experts use phrases where the word “robot” is the basic one, for example: marine robots, marine robotics, robotic complexes or systems, etc. Others tend to dispense with the term “robot”, emphasizing more etymologically intelligible phrases, for example, “uninhabited underwater vehicle” (NPA). In this review, we will adhere to the terminology that emerged from the works of M.D. Ageev and his colleagues at the Institute of Marine Technology Problems of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which he headed from 1988 to 2005, paying tribute to their contribution to the development of domestic marine robotics. These are such terms as "unmanned underwater vehicle" (UUV), "remotely controlled unmanned underwater vehicle" (ROV), "autonomous unmanned underwater vehicle" (AUV) and a number of others. At the same time, in the text you will also find all kinds of "robotic" terms, so as not to distort the ideas and conclusions of the authors who used them in their works. Be that as it may, we do not see a big contradiction here, because an NPA is just an apparatus operating under water (or on the surface of the sea, or even above the water surface - a marine drone), and a robotic complex or system is already a ship support and m. a system of navigation beacons, without which the device cannot do to fulfill its mission. So the variety in terminology, we hope, will not embarrass anyone. Everything should be clear from the context.

There is also no uniformity in foreign sources on this topic. More often than others, the term ROV (remotely operated vehicle) is used - a remotely controlled vehicle (moving) or instead of vehicle - a vessel, i.e. vessel. Also used are such abbreviations as UUV (Unmanned Underwater Vehicle) - an unmanned underwater vehicle, USV (Unmanned Surface Vehicle) - an unmanned surface vehicle, UXV (Unmanned Generic Vehicle) - an unmanned vehicle of a general (any) class, etc. loose interpretation of these terms, especially ROV. There are also other, similar in semantics, terms and abbreviations, which we will not focus on now. In any case, you can always use the "List of abbreviations" section of this review.

Classification.

Classification in any scientific direction is a conceptual issue both in terms of the interaction of specialists and in terms of the development of this direction. The variety of ABOs created in the world makes it difficult to classify them rigorously. However, some classification schemes have been proposed that can be relied upon.

Firstly, the division of underwater vehicles into manned and uninhabited - OPA and NPA is well known. Inhabited vehicles can be hyperbaric and normobaric (a robust body protects hydronauts from water pressure). Further, these two subgroups are divided into autonomous and tethered.

Unmanned vehicles are primarily divided into remote-controlled and autonomous.

Most often, mass, dimensions, autonomy, mode of movement, availability of buoyancy, working depth, deployment scheme, purpose, functional and design features, cost and some others are used as the classification signs of marine RTK (NLA).

Classification by weight and size characteristics:

• - micro-PA (PMA), weight (dry) - mini-PA, weight 20–100 kg, cruising range from 0.5 to 4000 nautical miles, operational depth up to 2000 m;
• - small NPA, weight 100-500 kg. Currently, PA of this class make up 15–20% and are widely used in solving various problems at depths of up to 1500 m;
• - average regulatory legal acts, weight more than 500 kg, but less than 2000 kg;
• - large NLA, weight> 2000 kg.

Classification according to the features of the shape of the supporting structure:

• - classical shape (cylindrical, conical and spherical);
• - bionic (floating and crawling types);
• - glider (aircraft) shape;
• - with a solar panel on the top of the case (flat shapes);
• - crawling NPA on a tracked base;
• - serpentine.

Classification of marine RTK (NLA) by the degree of autonomy.

AUV must meet three main conditions of autonomy: mechanical, energy and information.

Mechanical autonomy assumes the absence of any mechanical connection in the form of a cable, cable or hose connecting the PA with the carrier vessel or with the bottom station or coastal base.

Energy autonomy presupposes the presence of a power source on board the PA in the form of, for example, storage batteries, fuel cells, a nuclear reactor, an internal combustion engine with a closed working cycle, etc.

The informational autonomy of the UUV assumes the absence of information exchange between the apparatus and the carrier vessel, or the bottom station or the coastal base. At the same time, the UAV must also have an autonomous inertial navigation system.

Classification of maritime RTK (NLA) according to the information principle for the corresponding generation of NLA.

Offshore autonomous RTK VN (AUV) of the first generation operate according to a predetermined rigid unchangeable program. Remotely controlled (DU) UFOs of the first generation are controlled in an open loop. In these simplest devices, control commands are sent directly to the propulsion complex without the use of automatic feedbacks.

AUVs of the second generation have a branched sensor system. The second generation of DUNPA assumes the presence of automatic feedbacks on the coordinates of the state of the control object: height above the bottom, depth of immersion, speed, angular coordinates, etc. These successive coordinates are compared in the autopilot with the specified ones determined by the operator.

AUVs of the third generation will have elements of artificial intelligence: the ability to independently make simple decisions within the framework of a common task assigned to them; elements of artificial vision with the ability to automatically recognize simple images; the opportunity for elementary self-study with the replenishment of their own knowledge base. DUNPA of the third generation are controlled by the operator in an interactive mode. The supervisory control system already presupposes a certain hierarchy, consisting of the upper level, implemented in the host ship's computer, and the lower level, implemented on board the underwater module.

Depending on the immersion depth usually considered: shallow-water UUV with a working depth of up to 100 m, UUV for offshore operations (300-600 m), medium-depth devices (up to 2000 m) and UUV of great and extreme depths (6000 m and more).

Depending on the type of propulsion system It is possible to distinguish between RVs with a traditional propeller-driven group, RVs with a propulsion system based on bionic principles, with water jets, and AUVs - gliders with a propulsion system that uses a change in trim and buoyancy. In turn, propeller-driven rotorcraft are divided into electric and electro-hydraulic. The features of the various propellers are discussed in section 3.3.

In addition, in a number of works, NPA is divided into inspection and workers. This primarily applies to TNLA. Inspection ROVs mean light and medium-sized devices designed for inspection, underwater photography, research using various sensors, and under workers - heavy, weighing up to several tons, ROVs, designed to perform work using manipulators and various tools, as well as for lifting cargo. The work contains the following classification table of TNLA.

This classification does not in any way reflect new trends in the part of contactless sensor networks ("smart plankton") and flocking robots, but this, apparently, is a matter for the near future. When examples of the implementation of these technologies in real offshore projects appear, then the classification will be able to adjust.

In this review, we pay equal attention to TNLA and AUV. Each of these types of marine robotics has its own specific field of application, which is directly related to the advantages and disadvantages characteristic of each type. The main advantage of the TNLA is that it is connected by a cable to the support vessel, i.e. energetically and informationally fully provided. It can work under water for as long as you like, be operatively controlled by an operator on board the carrier vessel, and carry a large load - tools, powerful manipulators, lighting equipment. In fact, the TNLA can be attributed to robotics only with a big stretch, rather, it is a remotely controlled instrumental complex. TNLA carry out the largest volume of inspection, search, rescue, repair and construction work. At the same time, rigid attachment to the carrier vessel is also the main disadvantage of TNLA, which does not allow them to perform functions related to autonomous operation, for example, covert reconnaissance, sabotage, penetration into spaces where an external cable would become an obstacle. Yes, and a network of sensors or mobile devices for work on large areas cannot be built from TNLA. Therefore, the AUV has its own rather extensive field of activity. Unfortunately, the AUV has at least two serious drawbacks. This is underwater communications and a limited energy resource, and underwater navigation leaves much to be desired. Scientific work to solve these problems is being carried out quite actively, which will be discussed in the relevant sections of the review, and if they bring practical results, this will give a powerful additional incentive to the development of marine robotics.

2. Historical background.

2.1. Development of MRI abroad.

The beginning of the production and use of unmanned underwater vehicles abroad can be considered the end of the 50s, the beginning of the 60s of the last century, when the US Navy took seriously the development of this direction.

So in the early 60s, a very successful model of the TNLA was created, which can be considered the prototype of all modern tethered underwater vehicles. The device was called the Cable-Controlled Underwater Research Vehicle (CURV) and had a tubular frame with four torpedo-like buoyancy and a total length of 3.3 m, width and height of 1.2 m. The propulsion system consisted of three 10 hp engines. On board were: sonar and hydrophone, TV camera and lamps, as well as a 35 mm film camera. The CURV was equipped with a 7-function manipulator with a gripper that allows large cylindrical objects to be gripped. All drives, including motors, were hydraulic. The submersion depth of the CURV was 600 m. Later, modifications of the CURV II and CURV III were created with a diving depth of up to 6000 m. The CURV and its modifications raised hundreds of torpedoes from the bottom, participated in search and rescue operations. One of such operations consisted in the search and lifting of a hydrogen bomb from a depth of 869 m in the Palomares region (Spain) in 1966.

In the 70s, Great Britain and France actively joined the creation of unmanned underwater vehicles, and from the late 70s and especially in the 80s Germany, Norway, Canada, Japan, Holland, and Sweden actively joined the race. And if initially the production of NLA was funded by the state, and the use was limited mainly to the military sphere, then already in the 80s the bulk of their production began to fall on commercial companies, and the scope of application spread to the field of business and science. This was primarily due to the intensive development of offshore oil and gas fields.

In the 90s, the ROV crossed the 6,000 m depth barrier. The Japanese ROV JAMSTEC Kaiko reached a depth of 10,909 m in the Mariana Trench. The US Navy has begun replacing pilot-operated rescue systems with modular systems based on unmanned ROVs.

The appearance on the market of a wide variety of UFO models led to an active search for new areas of their application, and this, in turn, found a response from the developers and manufacturers of UFOs. Such a reciprocal process, stimulating the development of this direction, is taking place now. Currently, there are more than 500 manufacturers of non-aerial vehicles from various countries in the foreign market of marine robotics, including even such as Iceland, Iran and Croatia.

2.2. Development of domestic MRI.

In our country, the creation of unmanned underwater vehicles began around the same years as abroad. At the Institute of Oceanology in 1963. development began, and in 1968. appeared TNPA "CRAB" and "Manta 0.2", equipped with a TV camera and manipulator.

A significant contribution to the development of marine robotics at different times was made by such organizations as:

• - Institute for Problems of Marine Technologies FEB RAS (IPMT FEB RAS);
• - Institute of Oceanology RAS named after Shirshova;
• - MVTU im. Bauman;
• - Institute of Mechanics, Moscow State University;
• - Central Research Institute "Gidropribor";
• - Leningrad Polytechnic Institute;
• - Engineering Center "Depth";
• - CJSC Intershelf-STM;
• - State Scientific Center "Yuzhmorgeologiya";
• - LLC "Indel-Partner";
• - Federal State Unitary Enterprise “OKB of Oceanological Techniques of the Russian Academy of Sciences”.

At present, OJSC "Tethys Pro" is actively working in the Russian market, providing Russian consumers with products from leading foreign manufacturers, performing their localization and technical support.

Institute for Problems of Marine Technologies, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences was established in 1988. on the basis of the department of underwater technical means of the IAPU of the Far East Scientific Center of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

At different times, the institute created AUV "Skat", "Skat-geo", "L-1", "L-2", "MT-88", "Tiflonus", "OKRO-6000", "CR-01A "," Harpsichord ", small-sized" Pilgrim ", AUV on solar batteries (SANPA); ROV of the MAKS series (small-sized device with cable communication). In total for the period 1974-2010. more than 20 unmanned underwater vehicles for various purposes were created.

The devices created at the institute were used in rescue operations, to search for sunken objects, to inspect underwater structures: pipelines, platform supports and berthing structures. A unique operation in the Sargas Sea to search and survey the nuclear submarine "K-219", which sank in 1987. at a depth of 5500 m, was the world's first deep-sea operation carried out exclusively by an autonomous unmanned underwater vehicle ("L-2"). The created robotic complex was used to survey the area of ​​the sinking of the nuclear submarine "K-8" in the North Atlantic and to search for a South Korean passenger aircraft in the area of ​​about. Sakhalin. In 1989, the L-2 unit took part in search and rescue operations in the Norwegian Sea in the area of ​​the K-287 nuclear submarine accident (Komsomolets).

In 1990. AUV "MT-88" received in San Diego (USA) the international diploma INTERVENTION / ROV "90 of the first degree for the best work of the year and contribution to the progress of world underwater robotics.

At the Institute of Oceanology, as mentioned above, the first domestic TNLA series "CRAB" and "Manta" were created.

In MVTU them. Bauman research on the creation of underwater technology began in the late 60s at the department of SM-7. To this day, the departments "Ocean Engineering" and "Underwater Robots and Apparatuses" train specialists in the development of underwater vehicles. In the engineering center "Glubina", together with the teachers and students of the department "Underwater robots and devices", a multifunctional ROV "Kalan" was created. By the way, Engineering Center "Depth" in the early 90s, he developed another small-sized inspection TNLA "Belek".

Central Research Institute "Gidropribor" noted for the development of the ROV "TPA-150", "TPA-200" and "Rapan". However, in the course of operation in "Rapan" a number of shortcomings were identified and its use was discontinued.

In 1990. the Leningrad company ZAO appeared on the market "Intershelf-STM" with their own developments TNLA, which later were equipped with the ships "Ecopatrol". In 1998. this organization, commissioned by Exxon, carried out large-scale seabed exploration for an offshore oil and gas development project.

State Scientific Center "Yuzhmorgeologiya" is based on the Black Sea coast, 40 km from Novorossiysk. This organization is the developer and owner of three ROVs "RT-1000 PLI", "PTM 500" and "PT 6000M".

With the help of these devices, a number of underwater technical works were carried out: search for burials of chemical and bacteriological weapons in the Baltic Sea, inspection of oil pipelines, inspection of outlet headers of treatment facilities and pier structures of the port in the Black Sea, work on sunken objects - "Admiral Nakhimov" and APRK "Kursk", inspection of the coastal part of the underwater pipeline "Blue Stream", search and lifting of black boxes of the Airbus A-320, which crashed near Sochi, and a number of other works.

Indel-Partner LLC, formed in 2001. it is well known for its miniature and inexpensive (3-7 thousand dollars) inspection class TNLA of the GNOM and Obzor series. These devices are widely used for underwater surveys, observing fish and bottom dwellers, inspecting sunken ships and searching for various objects. GNOMs were purchased and successfully operated by the services of the RF Ministry of Emergency Situations, the RF Prosecutor General's Office, Rosenergoatom, large oil and gas companies, divers and divers.

FSUE "OKB of Oceanological Engineering of the Russian Academy of Sciences"- another well-known manufacturer of various underwater equipment, in 2006. developed and manufactured a multi-purpose ROSUB 6000 working class ROV with immersion depth up to 6000 m. The weight of the apparatus is 2500 kg, the payload is 150 kg.

JSC "Tethys Pro"... In 2010, the rescue forces of the Russian Black Sea Fleet adopted a new remote-controlled autonomous unmanned underwater vehicle Obzor-600, created by the Russian company Tethys-PRO. Earlier, the Russian fleet used British-made AUVs. These are the Tiger and Pantera + vehicles manufactured by Seaeye Marine. Obzor-600 belongs to the class of small AUVs and is capable of operating at depths of up to 600 meters. The device weighs 15 kilograms. "Obzor-600" is equipped with manipulators that allow seizing a load weighing up to 20 kilograms. Due to its small size, the AUV can penetrate complex or narrow structures under water.

3. Features and prospects of the applied technologies.

3.1. Communication and interaction.

Obviously, this section will focus exclusively on communication and interaction of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV), since ROVs are connected to the support vessel by cable, and surface devices - by radio. Due to the fact that electromagnetic waves in water quickly decay, radio communication in the HF and VHF ranges is possible partially only at the periscope depth. Underwater robots called on to work at depth are not interested. Research carried out primarily in the interests of the military submarine fleet has shown that of the physical fields known in nature, the most interesting for solving the problem of communication with underwater objects are:

• - acoustic waves;
• - electromagnetic fields in the range of ultra-low frequencies (ELF) and extremely low frequencies (ELF), sometimes they are called extremely low frequencies (ELF);
• - seismic waves;
• - optical (laser) radiation (in the blue-green range);
• - neutrino beams and gravitational fields.

It was decided that backup communication with submarines located under water anywhere in the world ocean is most realistic using antennas emitting very long waves. Many kilometers of antennas were built in the USA, in the Great Lakes region and here on the Kola Peninsula.

In the ELF range, one-way sending of a message and its reception at any point in the ocean is possible, but ... one short word for ... 5-20 minutes. It is clear that such a one-way communication can only be used as a backup, for transmitting, for example, an emergency command "to surface and contact the center in any way possible."

Therefore, today the only way to communicate with the surface or with other underwater vehicles is acoustic communication in the low-frequency range. An example is the LinkQuest UWM 4000 acoustic transmit / receive modem for underwater communications from LinkQuest.

Today it is one of the most advanced and demanded products, thanks to: an improved modulation scheme to improve the signal-to-noise ratio; stabilization of the communication channel to combat multiple signal reflections; error correction coding; automatic adaptation of the baud rate to cope with changing noise conditions in the environment.

However, even at such a speed, it is impossible to transfer significant amounts of information. You can only send commands or exchange small files. To transfer a photo or video image, or to transfer an array of accumulated data to the processing center, the AUV must emerge and use radio or satellite communications. For this, most modern devices (except for specialized bottom network sensors) have the necessary communication facilities on board.

So, for example, in the AUV Gavia the communication and control module has the following capabilities:

• - wireless local area network
• (Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11g) operating range - 300 m (optimal range - 150 m);
• - satellite communications: Iridium;
• - hydroacoustic communication system for receiving system status messages, range - 1200 m;
• - Data extraction: wired local area network (Ethernet) or wireless local area computing Wi-Fi.

Underwater optical communication.

Compared to air, water is opaque to most of the electromagnetic spectrum except in the visible range. Moreover, in the purest waters, light penetrates only a few hundred meters deep. Therefore, acoustic communication is currently used underwater. Acoustic systems transmit information over fairly long distances, but still lag behind in transmission time due to the relatively low speed of sound propagation in water.

Scientists and engineers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have developed an optical transmission system that integrates with an existing speaker system. This method will allow data transmission at speeds of up to 10-20 megabits per second over a distance of 100 meters using a low-power battery and an inexpensive receiver and transmitter. The invention will allow underwater vehicles equipped with all the necessary devices to transmit instant messages and video to the surface of the water in real time. The company's report was presented on February 23, 2010 at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in Portland (Portland Ore). When the ship goes to such a depth, when the optical system is no longer working, acoustics comes in.

Material on the results of tests of this technology appeared on the WHOI website only in July 2012. Apparently, the creators have been solving some commercial or copyright issues for so long. It was reported that blue light was used in the optical modem. other light waves propagate less well in water, and video transmission from the bottom of the sea in "near real time" has been carried out at a distance of up to 200 meters. It was also reported that the technology's creators have formed an alliance with Sonardyne to commercialize their product, which they call BlueComm.

For your reference, here are the basic basics of optical wireless communication in the air.

The technology of wireless optics (Free Space Optics - FSO) has been known for a long time: the first experiments on data transmission using wireless optical devices were carried out more than 30 years ago. However, its rapid development began in the early 1990s. with the advent of broadband data networks. The first systems from A.T.Schindler, Jolt and SilCom provided data transmission over distances of up to 500 m and used infrared semiconductor diodes. The progress of such systems was held back mainly by the lack of reliable, powerful and "rapid-fire" radiation sources.

Currently, such sources have appeared. State-of-the-art FSO technology supports connections up to OS-48 (2.5 Gb / s) with a maximum range of up to 10 km, and some manufacturers claim data transfer rates up to 10 Gb / s and distances of up to 50 km. In this case, the indicator of the real maximum range is influenced by the availability of the channel, that is, the percentage of time when the channel is working.

The data rates provided by FSO systems are about the same as those of fiber-optic networks, so they are most in demand in broadband applications along the last mile. Wireless optical systems use the infrared range of 400 to 1400 nm.

The ideology of building wireless optics systems is based on the fact that an optical communication channel simulates a piece of cable. This approach does not require additional communication protocols or their modification.

Optical systems have certain characteristics that make them quite popular in the market:

The construction of all infrared transmission systems is practically the same: they consist of an interface module, an emitter modulator, optical systems of a transmitter and a receiver, a receiver demodulator and a receiver interface unit. Depending on the type of optical emitters used, a distinction is made between laser and semiconductor infrared diode systems, which have different speeds and transmission distances. The former provide a transmission distance of up to 15 km at speeds up to 155 Mbit / s (commercial systems) or up to 10 Gbit / s (experimental systems). It should be noted that with the tightening of requirements for the quality of the channel, the communication range decreases. The latter provide a significantly shorter transmission range, although as the technology develops, the range and speed of communication increase. ...

3.2. Navigation aids.

The history of maritime navigation goes back centuries. Even ancient navigators were guided by coastal markers, and far from the coast - by the stars. Yes, this is how you can find your way home, but for search operations, where precise positioning of both the search object at the bottom of the sea and your own coordinates under water is required, fundamentally different navigation methods are needed. Despite technological progress, until recently, half a century ago, navigation aids did not provide the required positioning accuracy under water. From the memoirs of American search specialists, we know about the difficulties they faced in 1963, when the American submarine Thresher sank at a depth of 2560 m, and in 1966 a hydrogen bomb was lost off the coast of Spain. The accuracy of the underwater positioning could not provide an accurate re-entry to the sunken object. It was these and similar incidents that led to active research and development of hydroacoustic positioning methods. In the future, the emergence of satellite navigation systems further enhanced the possibilities of navigation at sea.

Currently, the navigation systems of the NPA include:

• - satellite systems;
• - hydroacoustic;
• - onboard autonomous.

Satellite navigation systems GLONASS and GPS (+ in the future Galileo) provide the ability to quickly and accurately determine the coordinates of a marine object, synchronize the relative position of various objects in space, determine the speed and direction of movement of objects in real time. Taking into account wide-area add-ons such as the American WAAS, European EGNOS, Japanese MSAS, the positioning accuracy on the sea surface can reach 1-2 m. However, when the UUV is submerged, communication with the satellite is terminated. Then the position of the UUV is determined by the dead reckoning method by means of onboard navigation aids (compass, speed sensors, depth sensor, gyroscopes), or by means of hydroacoustic positioning.

Hydroacoustic navigation system positioning (HANS) is a system consisting of several stationary transmitting hydroacoustic beacons installed on the seabed and an accompanying vessel, a responder beacon to the UUV and an information processing unit. However, other methods of placing beacons are also used. Depending on this, a distinction is made between HANS with a long base (HANS DB), HANS with a short base (HANS KB), HANS with an ultrashort base (HANS UKB), their combinations and combinations with satellite navigation.

HANS DB use several beacons (transponders) with acoustic transceivers installed on them. These beacons, located in locations with known geographic coordinates, emit sound waves, allowing UUVs to determine the distance to them. For the system to operate in a given area, at least three acoustic beacons must be used. ABO makes triangulation to calculate its own position relative to them. To build the GANS DB, three or more lighthouses are used, permanently installed on the seabed, at a distance of about 500 meters from each other. The advantages of such systems are high accuracy in determining coordinates (sub-meter accuracy), no influence on the accuracy of sea waves, unlimited depth of use. Disadvantages - the need for an accurate exhibition of the lighthouses on the seabed, the need to raise them at the end of the work. The main application of HANS DB is long-term work on the inspection of any underwater objects, the construction and operation of oil platforms, and the laying of pipelines.

HANS UKB works on the principle of determining the coordinates of the beacon - the responder by distance and angle. The operating range of such systems reaches 4000 m. Usually, when working up to 1000 m, the accuracy of determining the coordinates is not worse than 10 m. This is enough to determine the location of the UUV, but not enough to perform complex underwater drilling or construction work.

The advantages of such systems include their relatively low cost and mobility. They can be used on almost any vessel, up to a rubber boat, by attaching a transmitting-receiving antenna (PPA) to a boom. The disadvantages include the high degree of influence of rolling on the accuracy and performance of the system.

An example of HANS UKB is HANS TrackLink 1500 by the American company LinkQuest, which is a portable, portable system capable of operating from any type of carrier vessel and small boats. Several dozen transmitting and receiving elements are structurally united in a single body, which can be lowered into the water directly from the carrier vessel. This arrangement, on the one hand, allows to achieve high positioning accuracy, and on the other hand, to reduce the weight and dimensions of the system and the time it takes to prepare it for operation, which is important when conducting search and rescue operations. When performing underwater work requiring high-precision positioning, for example, laying and inspecting pipelines, building hydraulic structures and oil platforms, etc., it is recommended to permanently fix the PPA on a special boom for launching from the side or mount a retractable boom in the ship's hull. This method of fastening ensures a stable position of the PPA relative to the carrier vessel, especially when operating in strong waves and currents.

For installation on underwater objects, the HANS includes various types of transponder beacons, unified in terms of weight and dimensions and time of continuous operation. The beacons are powered from built-in batteries or from the on-board network of underwater objects. The use of modern technology in the production of power batteries ensures long-term operation of transponder beacons in active mode. In the event of a prolonged absence of request signals from the PPA, the responder beacon automatically goes into standby mode to save battery life. Such an algorithm of operation ensures a long (up to several months) finding of the transponder beacon under water.

All signals from the PPA are processed in the surface control and display unit, which is a stationary computer or laptop. Unlike most similar systems on the market, the PPA data cable connects directly to the serial port of a computer (laptop). Mathematical and graphic data processing is carried out using special software. The monitor screen displays in real time the current coordinates of underwater objects, parameters and trajectory of their movement relative to the carrier vessel. The software has the ability to additionally process and display data from the GPS navigation system and an external heave sensor. These devices are connected to a laptop via a serial port or an interface unit.

The manufacturer LinkQuest offers a special modification of the HANS TrackLink 1500LC for working with miniature remote-controlled underwater vehicles of the "SiBotix" type. Such a system has a special sonar antenna with protection against surface noise, capable of operating from small boats or boats, and a small transponder beacon (weight in water less than 200 g). The technical capabilities of the system make it possible to position the underwater vehicle over the entire range of working depths.

The HANS TrackLink 1500 kit includes:

• sonar antenna with 20 meters cable;
• transponder beacon (depending on the type of underwater object) with a charger;
• laptop with installed software;
• shipping case;
• spare parts kit.

Additionally can be supplied:

• up to 8 responder beacons;
• GPS navigation system (DGPS);
• external roll sensor.

Short base systems (HANS KB) have several hydrophones spaced apart from each other, located in the lower part of the carrier vessel. The processing unit, using the hydroacoustic signals of the distance of the transponder beacon, provides the coordinates of the underwater object in real time. The advantages of such a system are mobility and fairly high accuracy (about a meter). Working depth is limited to 1000 m. Disadvantages - requirements for the minimum length of the carrier vessel. The need for accurate system calibration, high sensitivity to sea waves. Recently, these systems have been superseded by simpler and more sophisticated UKB systems.

In recent years, a fundamentally new hybrid system has appeared on the positioning system market, which uses the principles of constructing GANS DB and KB type with simultaneous comparison of coordinates using signals from DGPS (differential GPS). Let's consider such a system by example.

Hydroacoustic positioning system "GIB"(from the English GPS Intelligent Buoys) of the French company "ACSA" is designed to determine the current coordinates of underwater objects with high accuracy. The system is based on the principle of determining the coordinates of an underwater object relative to several surface floating buoys, the location of which, in turn, is determined using the GPS or GLONASS global positioning system. The floating buoy consists of a hydroacoustic receiver (hydrophone) and a GPS receiver. A sonar beacon with a certain signal frequency is installed on the underwater vehicle. Each buoy determines the bearing and distance to the sonar beacon using a hydrophone. At the same time, in strict time synchronization, the received values ​​are assigned the current geographic coordinates of the buoy. All received data are transmitted in real time via a radio modem to a tracking post located on board the ship or ashore. Special software using mathematical processing calculates the real geographic coordinates of an underwater object, the speed and direction of its movement. All initial and calculated parameters are saved for further processing, while the position and trajectory of movement of an underwater object or objects, carrier vessel and floating buoys are displayed on the monitor screen of the tracking post. The parameters and trajectories of movement can be displayed either in relative coordinates, for example, relative to the carrier vessel, or in absolute geographic coordinates, plotted directly on the electronic map of the area of ​​underwater work. When performing work on the detection and recovery of fragments of sunken objects, the hydrophones installed on the buoys also determine the bearing and distance to the hydroacoustic beacon, the sunken object. The coordinates and depth of the beacon are displayed on the electronic map of the tracking post, and the operator can direct the underwater vehicles or divers to the object, guided by the data displayed on the monitor. - http://www.bnti.ru/des.asp?itm=3469HYPERLINK "http://www.bnti.ru/des.asp?itm=3469&tbl=02.04"&HYPERLINK" http://www.bnti.ru /des.asp?itm=3469&tbl=02.04"tbl=02.04

Due to its mobility, high speed of deployment and undemanding to the type of support vessel, such a system is ideal for performing rescue and search operations. A special module, attached to this system, allows to find the acoustic signals from the black boxes of crashed aircraft or helicopters and to carry out divers or underwater vehicles to them.

Onboard autonomous navigation aids include: navigation and flight sensors (depth gauge, magnetic and gyroscopic compasses, roll and trim sensors, relative and absolute speed meters - induction and Doppler logs, angular velocity sensors) and an inertial navigation system (INS) based on accelerometers and laser or fiber optic gyroscopes. The ANN measures the displacement and acceleration of the aircraft along three axes and generates data to determine its geographic coordinates, angular orientation, linear and angular velocities.

In conclusion, we give an example navigation system of an autonomous unmanned underwater vehicle (AUV) GAVIA. The navigation complex consists of onboard, hydroacoustic, satellite navigation systems:

- DGPS receiver with WAAS / EGNOS corrections reception

- 3-axis induction compass, 360 ° orientation sensor, acceleration sensors

- ANN with Doppler lag

- Hydroacoustic navigation system with long and ultrashort base.

The onboard system is an integrated doppler-inertial system consisting of a high-precision strapdown inertial navigation system (INS) with laser gyroscopes. The INS is corrected by the Doppler lag data, which measures the vehicle's speed over the ground or relative to the water.

The use of Doppler log data on the height above the ground allows the AUV to maintain the depths required to perform an SSS or photographic survey. A DGPS receiver is used to obtain a surface position. The hydroacoustic navigation system provides identification of the AUV with an installed transponder beacon relative to the receiving-transmitting antenna, or relative to the beacons installed on the bottom that emit signals into the environment.

In the coming years, in our opinion, the emergence of a new navigation method based on the use of augmented reality technology. The means that implement this method can be very effective in positioning the AUV in closed spaces, such as the interior of sunken ships, pipelines, pools, as well as in conditions of difficult bottom topography, crevices, fjords, harbor. You can read about this method in section 8. “Marine robotics + add. reality".

Article "20.07.2013. Development of marine robotics in Russia and abroad" You can discuss at

Russian fully autonomous unmanned underwater vehicle "Poseidon" has no analogues in the world

The history of the creation of marine robotic systems began in 1898 in Madison Square Garden, when the famous Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla demonstrated a radio-controlled submarine at the exhibition. Some believe that the idea of ​​creating waterfowl robots reappeared in Japan at the end of World War II, but in fact the use of "human torpedoes" was too irrational and ineffective.

After 1945, the development of naval remote-controlled vehicles went in two directions. Deep-sea bathyscaphes appeared in the civilian sphere, which later developed into robotic research complexes. And the military design bureaus tried to create surface and underwater vehicles to perform a whole range of combat missions. As a result, various unmanned surface vehicles (UAS) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) were created in the United States and Russia.

In the US naval forces, uninhabited naval vehicles began to be used immediately after World War II. In 1946, during the tests of atomic bombs on Bikini Atoll, the US Navy remotely collected water samples using radio-controlled boats. In the late 1960s, remote control equipment for minesweeping was installed on the BNA.

In 1994, the US Navy published the UUV Master Plan (UUV Master Plan), which provided for the use of devices for mine action, information gathering and oceanographic tasks in the interests of the fleet. In 2004, a new plan for underwater drones was published. It described missions for reconnaissance, mine and anti-submarine warfare, oceanography, communications and navigation, patrolling and protection of naval bases.

Today, the US Navy classifies UAVs and UAVs by size and application. This allows us to divide all robotic marine vehicles into four classes (for convenience of comparison, we will apply this gradation to our marine robots as well).

X-Class. The devices are small (up to 3 m) UAV or UUV, which should support the actions of groups of special operations forces (SSO). They can conduct reconnaissance and support the actions of the naval strike group (KUG).

Harbor Class. BNA are developed on the basis of a standard 7-meter boat with a rigid frame and are designed to perform tasks of ensuring maritime security and conducting reconnaissance. In addition, the device can be equipped with various fire weapons in the form of combat modules. The speed of such ABVs, as a rule, exceeds 35 knots, and the autonomy of work is about 12 hours.

Snorkeler Class. It is a seven-meter BPA designed for mine countermeasures, anti-submarine operations, as well as supporting the actions of the Navy's MTR. Underwater speed reaches 15 knots, autonomy - up to 24 hours.

Fleet Class. one 1-meter submarine with a rigid body. Designed for mine action, anti-submarine defense, as well as participation in naval operations. The speed of the vehicle varies from 32 to 35 knots, the autonomy is up to 48 hours.

Now let's look at the UAV and UAV, which are in the service of the US Navy or are being developed in their interests.

CUSV (Common Unmanned Surface Vessel). The unmanned boat, belonging to the Fleet Class, was developed by Textron. His tasks will include patrolling, reconnaissance and strike operations. The CUSV is similar to a conventional torpedo boat: 11 meters long, 3.08 meters wide, and a maximum speed of 28 knots. It can be controlled either by an operator at a distance of up to 20 km, or via satellite at a distance of up to 1.920 km. The autonomy of the CUSV is up to 72 hours, in the economy mode - up to one week.

ACTUV (Anti-Submarine Warfare Continous Trail Unmanned Vessel). Fleet Class's 140-ton APU is an autonomous trimaran. Destination - submarine hunter. Able to accelerate to 27 knots, cruising range - up to 6,000 km, autonomy - up to 80 days. On board it has only sonars for detecting submarines and means of communication with the operator to transmit the coordinates of the found submarine.

Ranger. BPA (X-Class), developed by Nekton Research to participate in expeditionary missions, missions to detect underwater mines, reconnaissance and patrol missions. Ranger is designed for short missions, with a total length of 0.86 m, it weighs a little less than 20 kg and moves at a speed of about 15 knots.

REMUS (Remote Environmental Monitoring Units). The world's only submarine robot (X-Class) that took part in the hostilities during the 2003 Iraqi War. The BPA was developed on the basis of the Remus-100 civilian research apparatus of the Hydroid company, a subsidiary of the Kongsberg Maritime company. Solves the tasks of conducting mine reconnaissance and underwater inspection work in shallow sea conditions. REMUS is equipped with a side-looking sonar with increased resolution (5x5 cm at a distance of 50 m), Doppler log, GPS receiver, as well as temperature and electrical conductivity sensors. BPA weight - 30.8 kg, length - 1.3 m, working depth - 150 m, autonomy - up to 22 hours, underwater speed - 4 knots.

LDUUV (Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle). Large-sized combat UAV (Snorkeler Class). According to the concept of the US Navy command, the UAV should have a length of about 6 m, underwater speed up to 6 knots at a working depth of up to 250 m. The navigation endurance should be at least 70 days. UUV must perform combat and special missions in remote sea (ocean) areas. Armament LDUUV - four 324-mm torpedoes and hydroacoustic sensors (up to 16). An attack BPA should be used from coastal points, surface ships, from a silo launcher (silo) of multipurpose nuclear submarines of the Virginia and Ohio types. The requirements for the weight and size characteristics of the LDUUV were largely determined by the dimensions of the silo of these boats (diameter - 2.2 m, height - 7 m).

Marine robots of Russia

The Russian Ministry of Defense is expanding the range of use of UUVs and UUVs for naval reconnaissance, anti-ship and UUV combat, mine action, coordinated launch of UUV groups against critical enemy targets, detection and destruction of infrastructure, such as power cables.

The Russian navy, like the US Navy, considers the integration of UUVs into fifth-generation nuclear and non-nuclear submarines as a priority. Today, for the Russian Navy, marine robots for various purposes are being developed, and in parts of the fleet.

"Seeker"... Robotic multifunctional unmanned boat (Fleet Class - according to the American classification). Developed by NPP AME (St. Petersburg), tests are now underway. The "Iskatel" submarine surface objects should be detected and tracked at a distance of 5 km using an optoelectronic surveillance system, and underwater ones - using sonar equipment. The boat's payload mass is up to 500 kg, the range is up to 30 km.

"Mayevka"... Self-propelled remote-controlled mine finder-destroyer (STIUM) (Snorkeler Class). Developer - JSC "State Scientific Production Enterprise" Region ". The purpose of this UUV is to search and detect anchor, bottom and bottom mines by means of the built-in sector-view sonar. On the basis of the BPA, the development of new anti-mine BPA "Alexandrite-ISPUM" is underway.

"Harpsichord"... The BPA (Snorkeler Class), created at CDB MT Rubin, in various modifications, has long been in service with the Russian Navy. It is used for research and reconnaissance purposes, surveys and maps the seabed, and searches for sunken objects. "Harpsichord" looks like a torpedo about 6 m long and weighing 2.5 tons. The immersion depth is 6 km. BPA rechargeable batteries allow it to travel a distance of up to 300 km. There is a modification called "Harpsichord-2R-PM", created specifically to control the water area of ​​the Arctic Ocean.

"Juno"... Another model from JSC CDB MT Rubin. Robot drone (X-Class) 2.9 m long, with an immersion depth of up to 1 km and an autonomous range of 60 km. Launched from the ship "Juno" is intended for tactical reconnaissance in the sea zone closest to the "home board".

"Amulet"... BPA (X-Class) was also developed by JSC CDB MT Rubin. The length of the robot is 1.6 m. The list of tasks includes carrying out search and research operations of the state of the underwater environment (temperature, pressure and speed of sound propagation). The maximum immersion depth is about 50 m, the maximum underwater speed is 5.4 km / h, the range of the working area is up to 15 km.

"Obzor-600"... The rescue forces of the Russian Black Sea Fleet adopted the BPA (X-Class) created by the Tethys-PRO company in 2011. The main task of the robot is reconnaissance of the seabed and any underwater objects. Obzor-600 is capable of operating at a depth of 600 m and a speed of up to 3.5 knots. It is equipped with manipulators that can lift a load weighing up to 20 kg, as well as sonar, which can detect underwater objects at a distance of up to 100 m.

Out-of-class BPA, which has no analogues in the world, requires a more detailed description. Until recently, the project was called "Status-6". Poseidon is a fully autonomous UUV, in fact, a fast, deep-sea, stealthy nuclear submarine of small size.

Power supply for on-board systems and water-jet propellers is provided by a nuclear reactor with a liquid-metal coolant (LMC) with a capacity of about 8 MW. Reactors with liquid metal cores were installed on the K-27 submarine (project 645 ZhMT) and the submarines of projects 705 / 705K "Lira", which could reach an underwater speed of 41 knots (76 km / h). Therefore, many experts believe that the Poseidon's submerged speed lies in the range from 55 to 100 knots. At the same time, the robot, changing the speed in a wide range, can make the transition to a distance of 10,000 km at depths of up to 1 km. This excludes its detection by the SOSSUS hydroacoustic anti-submarine system deployed in the oceans, which controls the approaches to the US coast.

Experts calculated that Poseidon at a cruising speed of 55 km / h could be detected no further than at a distance of up to 3 km. But discovering is only half the battle, not a single existing and promising torpedo of the naval forces of the NATO countries will be able to catch up with the Poseidon under water. The deepest and fastest European torpedo, the MU90 Hard Kill, launched at a speed of 90 km / h, will only be able to pursue it for 10 km.

And these are just "flowers", and the "berry" is a megaton-class nuclear warhead that Poseidon can carry. Such a warhead can destroy an aircraft carrier formation (AUS), consisting of three attack aircraft carriers, three dozen escort ships and five nuclear submarines. And if it reaches the water area of ​​a large naval base, then the Pearl Harbor tragedy in December 1941 will drop to the level of a slight childish fright ...

Today the question is asked, how many Poseidons can there be on nuclear submarines of Project 667BDR “Kalmar” and 667BDRM “Dolphin”, which are designated in reference books as carriers of midget submarines? The answer is that it is enough that the aircraft carriers of the potential enemy do not leave their bases of destination.

The two main geopolitical players - the United States and Russia - are developing and producing more and more UAVs and UUVs. In the long term, this could lead to a change in naval defense doctrines and tactics of naval operations. While naval robots are dependent on carriers, drastic changes should not be expected, but the fact that they have already made changes to the balance of naval forces is becoming an indisputable fact.

Alexey Leonkov, military expert of the magazine "Arsenal of the Fatherland"