MarineSIM: Robot simulation for marine environments

Abstract

Development of robust navigation algorithms for marine robotics is a challenge faced by many marine robotists. This paper presents MarineSIM, a marine robot simulation platform which provides an infrastructure to easily test and debug navigation algorithms before they are being deployed in the actual environment. The general architecture of the simulation platform is introduced together with the marine robot models and sensor models used. A detailed example is provided on how to use this platform to simulate a collaborative mapping of a marine environment using both above waterline and below waterline sensors.