11:45 AM - 12:00 PM
[MIS05-04] Development of the Under Ice AUV “MONACA”
- Autonomous Navigation Trial in Under Ice Environment -
Keywords:Under-ice Survey, AUV
This presentation introduces the AUV MONACA (Mobility Oriented Nadir AntarctiC Adventurer) and reports the results of autonomous navigation trials held in Oct. 2020 and Feb. 2021.
The AUV MONACA was developed for under ice survey of Antarctica, supported by JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas No.4902, to measure the sea ice/shelf ice and seafloor for research of ice sheet-ocean interaction. MONACA is 2 m long, 230 kg weigh, and it can cruise for about 8 hours. Depth rating is 1500m. The vehicle is designed to go into ice covered oceans as far as 10 km. The flat body is filled with buoyancy materials at the top so that the battery units and main unit can be accessed from the side. The vehicle has five degrees of freedom (surge, heave, roll, pitch, and yaw) by 4 vertical thrusters and 2 horizontal thrusters. Although the survey range is limited compared with large AUVs, it can conduct a highly precise survey with lower costs. Its modular design enables the necessary and sufficient compositions for various survey needs. Its sensor unit consisting of a multi-beam sonar, an INS (Inertial Navigation System), and a DVL (Doppler Velocity Log) can be flipped upside down, so that the vehicle can survey both the ice and seafloor with minimum modification.
The first autonomous navigation trial was held in Oct. 2020 at Shimoda Bay, located in Sizuoka. MONACA was deployed, and its basic performance such as waypoint tracking and altitude control were veirfied at the open and calm water. The sensor unit was looking downward. Bathymetry data was also collected by the multibeam sonar. The second autonomous navigation trial is planned in Feb. 2021 at Mombetsu Port, located in Hokkaido and covered by ice. The sensor unit is looking upward to detect floating ice. The performance of ice-relative navigation and ice mapping is evaluated. The results of the trial will be shown in the presentation.
The AUV MONACA was developed for under ice survey of Antarctica, supported by JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas No.4902, to measure the sea ice/shelf ice and seafloor for research of ice sheet-ocean interaction. MONACA is 2 m long, 230 kg weigh, and it can cruise for about 8 hours. Depth rating is 1500m. The vehicle is designed to go into ice covered oceans as far as 10 km. The flat body is filled with buoyancy materials at the top so that the battery units and main unit can be accessed from the side. The vehicle has five degrees of freedom (surge, heave, roll, pitch, and yaw) by 4 vertical thrusters and 2 horizontal thrusters. Although the survey range is limited compared with large AUVs, it can conduct a highly precise survey with lower costs. Its modular design enables the necessary and sufficient compositions for various survey needs. Its sensor unit consisting of a multi-beam sonar, an INS (Inertial Navigation System), and a DVL (Doppler Velocity Log) can be flipped upside down, so that the vehicle can survey both the ice and seafloor with minimum modification.
The first autonomous navigation trial was held in Oct. 2020 at Shimoda Bay, located in Sizuoka. MONACA was deployed, and its basic performance such as waypoint tracking and altitude control were veirfied at the open and calm water. The sensor unit was looking downward. Bathymetry data was also collected by the multibeam sonar. The second autonomous navigation trial is planned in Feb. 2021 at Mombetsu Port, located in Hokkaido and covered by ice. The sensor unit is looking upward to detect floating ice. The performance of ice-relative navigation and ice mapping is evaluated. The results of the trial will be shown in the presentation.