Optimal Control of a Surface Vehicle to Improve Underwater Vehicle Network Connectivity

The use of an autonomous surface vehicle as an auxiliary agent to improve connectivity in a network of autonomous underwater vehicles is investigated. An algorithm is developed that consists of an optimal waypoint generator and a minimum-time guidance law that is used to steer the vehicle to the waypoint. This algorithm is used together with a communication architecture to improve underwater vehicle connectivity in a region of interest. The approach is simulated using various underwater vehicle configurations, both with and without the autonomous surface vehicle, where it is found that network connectivity is improved significantly via the inclusion of the autonomous surface vehicle. An in-water hardware test is then performed and is shown to be consistent with the simulation results. The results of this study show that adding an autonomous surface vehicle to an underwater vehicle network can improve the connectivity of the network.