DVL velocity aiding in the HUGIN 1000 integrated inertial navigation system

Abstract

The RDI WHN-600 Doppler Velocity Log (DVL) is a key navigation sensor for the HUGIN 1000 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). HUGIN 1000 is designed for autonomous submerged operation for long periods of time. This is facilitated by a low drift velocity aided Inertial Navigation System (INS). Major factors determining the position error growth are the IMU and DVL error characteristics and the mission plan pattern. For instance, low frequency DVL errors cause an approximately linear drift in a straight-line trajectory, while these errors tend to be cancelled out by a lawn mower pattern. The paper focuses on the accuracy offered by the DVL. HUGIN 1000 is a permanent organic mine countermeasure (MCM) capacity on the Royal Norwegian Navy MCM vessel KNM Karmøy. HUGIN 1000 will be part of the NATO force MCMFORNORTH in fall 2004.