Guidance and Navigation Software for Autonomous Underwater Explorer of Flooded Mines

Abstract

There are a vast number of abandoned old flooded mines in Europe, with inadequate information of their current status. Exploring and surveying such mines is both unfeasible and hazardous for human divers. UX-1 is an autonomous robotic platform for survey and exploration of such mines. In this work, we present the design, implementation and testing of the guidance and navigation system of UX-1. The system has been tested using a software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop techniques, and in a real mine environment.