ROV localization using ballasted umbilical equipped with IMUs

Juliette Drupt (1) , Christophe Viel (2, 3, 4) , Claire Dune (1) , Vincent Hugel (1)

1 COSMER - Laboratoire Conception de Systèmes Mécaniques et Robotiques - EA 7398
2 Lab-STICC - Laboratoire des sciences et techniques de l'information, de la communication et de la connaissance
3 Lab-STICC_ROBEX - Equipe ROBotics for EXploration
4 CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

This article describes an affordable and setupfriendly cable-based localization technique for remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), which exploits the piecewise linear shape of the umbilical being equipped with a sliding ballast. Each stretched part of the cable is instrumented with a waterproof IMU to measure its orientation. Using cable's geometry, the vehicle's location can be calculated in relation to the other fixed or moving end of the cable. Experiments carried out with a robotic system in a water tank prove the reliability of this localization strategy. The study investigates the influence of measurement uncertainties on cable orientation and length, as well as the impact of the IMU location along the cable on localization precision. The accuracy of the localization method is discussed.

Keywords: Underwater robotics Cable model Localization system; Underwater robotics; Cable model; Localization system

Domains: Automatic

Juliette Drupt, Christophe Viel, Claire Dune, Vincent Hugel. ROV localization using ballasted umbilical equipped with IMUs. 2023. ⟨hal-04350174⟩