JP2007210402A - Autonomous unmanned submersible and its underwater navigation method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable automatic docking by improving the positioning accuracy of the position of an underwater station. <P>SOLUTION: An autonomous unmanned submersible is equipped with an inertial navigation device 3 capable of detecting a self-position on a virtual fixed coordinate by inertial navigation, a sound positioning device 4 capable of detecting a relative distance and a direction from the self-position of a transponder 23 installed on the underwater station 20 by the sound positioning, and an autonomous navigation control device 5 which calculates a position on the fixed coordinate of the transponder 23 by combining the relative distance and the direction of the transponder 23 detected by the sound positioning device 4 with respect to the self-position on the fixed coordinate grasped by the inertial navigation device 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an autonomous unmanned submarine that automatically returns to an underwater station and performs battery charging, data communication with land, and the like, and an underwater navigation method thereof.

  Traditionally, ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have been used for undersea surveys, but support from mother ships is underwater. In recent years, autonomous unmanned submersibles have been developed due to advantages such as being able to operate even in rough weather and enabling simultaneous observation over a wide area using multiple submersibles. .

  Since such an autonomous unmanned submersible uses an internal battery or the like, a method for charging the battery underwater has been proposed. For example, in Patent Literature 1, a capture arm is provided in an autonomous unmanned submersible, and a capture positioning device that hooks a hook of the capture arm and guides it to a coupling position is provided in an underwater station. The submersible is docked in the underwater station to charge the battery and exchange data.

  By the way, in order for an autonomous unmanned submersible to return to the underwater station by automatic operation, it is necessary for the underwater station to always keep track of the position of the underwater station, and equipment caused by a collision with the underwater station, etc. In order to avoid the damage of the submarine, it is necessary to control the motion of the appropriate submersible, but there are dead reckoning navigation and acoustic positioning.

  Dead reckoning uses a combination of devices that detect hull attitude changes (gyros, bearing meters, attitude meters, etc.) and devices that detect hull speed changes (accelerometers, speedometers, etc.). Self-position is grasped by accumulatively calculating changes in speed and posture. It is conceivable that the submarine navigates while grasping its own position using this dead reckoning navigation and performs automatic docking to an underwater station fixed at a predetermined position. In addition, dead reckoning navigation can be used to grasp movement changes in a relatively short cycle, so dead reckoning navigation is often used for submarine movement control. However, dead reckoning navigation uses one-time integration of velocity and two-time integration of acceleration to calculate the self-position, so that posture, velocity, and acceleration measurement errors increase cumulatively, and position drift occurs over time. There is a problem that the self-position detection accuracy is lowered. If it does so, the exact position of the underwater station cannot be obtained, and it becomes impossible to realize automatic docking of the diving machine to the underwater station.

On the other hand, the acoustic positioning can measure the direction and relative distance of the transponder installed in the underwater station, and the submarine navigates while detecting the position of the transponder using this acoustic positioning, and enters the underwater station. It is conceivable to perform automatic docking. There are three types of positioning methods that are often used for this acoustic positioning: LBL (Long Base Line), SBL (Short Base Line), and SSBL (Super Short Base Line). The LBL method uses three or more transponders and measures the distance to each transponder from the time it takes to receive a response sound from each transponder to determine its own position. The SBL method receives responses from one transponder installed on the sea floor with three receivers arranged at intervals on the hull, and obtains the relative position (distance, direction, etc.) with the transponder. It is. The SSBL method uses a single transponder, calculates the direct distance from the response sound arrival time, and calculates the azimuth and dip angle of the transponder based on the phase difference of the sound waves that reach each element in the receiver array. Thus, the relative position is obtained from this. Although the LBL method has higher positioning accuracy than the SSBL method, a plurality of transponders are required, and the system scale on the underwater station side becomes large because it is necessary to dispose each transponder separately. Further, the SBL method is not suitable for a small vehicle in which the interval between the receivers cannot be increased. Therefore, in order to automatically dock the autonomous unmanned submersible with the underwater station, it is practical to use only one transponder and a receiver, and adopt the SSBL system that can make the system scale compact.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-272583

  However, in order to dock the underwater station, it is necessary to approach the docking position correctly. However, the SSBL method generates a position error that combines the angle detection error and the distance detection error, and the sampling time interval is wide. Since there is a low detection frequency, there arises a problem that the dockable accuracy cannot be obtained by the position control for the approach.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve positioning accuracy by acoustic positioning and enable automatic docking to an underwater station by an appropriate approach of a submersible.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and the autonomous unmanned submersible according to the present invention includes a dead reckoning navigation device capable of calculating a self-position on a virtual fixed coordinate by calculating a motion history, An acoustic positioning device capable of detecting the relative distance and direction of a transponder installed in water by acoustic positioning, and the self-position on a fixed coordinate calculated by the dead reckoning navigation device detected by the acoustic positioning device An autonomous navigation control device that calculates the position of the transponder on fixed coordinates by combining the relative distance and direction of the transponder is provided.

  In this way, in the position measurement of the transponder fixed on the seabed etc., the azimuth / distance data to the transponder acquired by acoustic positioning with respect to the self-position data on the fixed coordinates of the submarine acquired by dead reckoning navigation By combining these, the transponder position that is the target position can be calculated on fixed coordinates. That is, rather than grasping the position of the transponder only by acoustic positioning based on the moving submarine, the position of the transponder is grasped based on the fixed coordinates in dead reckoning navigation, so the position of the transponder can be determined while using acoustic positioning. It can be handled on fixed coordinates. In addition, fixed coordinates should be virtually formed based on the position data of the dead reckoning device after entering the area where the acoustic positioning device can communicate with the transponder, so the dead reckoning data is accumulated from the starting point. This eliminates the need for use and can greatly reduce the influence of dead reckoning error.

  In the present application, dead reckoning navigation means navigation capable of self-position calculation by calculation of motion history such as inertial navigation and dead reckoning. Further, the dead reckoning device, the acoustic positioning device, and the autonomous navigation control device may be separate or integrated.

  The autonomous navigation control device may be configured to correct the position of the transponder on a fixed coordinate using history information of the transponder position calculated in the past.

  In this way, by using a plurality of transponder position data calculated in the past, it is possible to correct variations in the positioning result of the acoustic positioning device and reduce acoustic positioning errors.

  The autonomous navigation control device may be configured to spatially average a plurality of transponder positions calculated in the past and correct the position of the transponder on fixed coordinates.

  In this way, more accurate transponder position data can be obtained by setting fixed coordinates based on the position data of the dead reckoning navigation device and spatially averaging the position data for each of the acoustic positioning positions based on the fixed coordinates. Can do. At that time, in order to further suppress the influence of positioning error, out of each transponder position data calculated for each positioning, exclude a predetermined number of transponder position data in descending order of the distance to the spatial average position, again, Spatial averaging processing may be performed. Alternatively, among the transponder position data calculated for each positioning, the transponder position data that is more than a predetermined distance away from the spatial average position may be excluded and the spatial average process may be performed again.

  The autonomous navigation control device adds a filter coefficient α (0 <α <1) multiplied by the transponder position calculated this time and a value obtained by multiplying the previously corrected transponder position by 1-α. It may be configured to correct the position of the transponder on fixed coordinates by performing processing.

  In this way, more accurate transponder position data can be obtained by filtering the transponder position data calculated on fixed coordinates set with reference to the position data of the dead reckoning navigation apparatus.

  The filter coefficient may be a variable inversely proportional to the distance between the transponder position calculated this time and the previously corrected transponder position.

  In this way, for a positioning value that is determined to have a large distance from the transponder position on the fixed coordinates corrected last time and a large error, the filter coefficient becomes small and the degree of reflection in the correction process decreases. For positioning values that are judged to have a small distance from the corrected transponder position on the fixed coordinates and have a small error, the filter coefficient increases and the degree of reflection in the correction process increases, improving the detection accuracy of the transponder position. In addition, the convergence of the correction process is improved. Note that the filter coefficient may be a constant.

  The autonomous navigation control device may be configured to calculate a docking approach point at a predetermined distance and azimuth from the calculated position of the transponder on fixed coordinates and set a route via the docking approach point. Good.

  This way, when returning to dock to the underwater station, instead of returning directly to the underwater station, once you arrive at the virtual docking entry point in the entry direction of the underwater station, By heading to the underwater station, it is possible to enter the underwater station in the correct direction and posture, and it is possible to smoothly perform the docking operation.

  A thrust device that moves or changes the attitude of the hull, a guide arm that contacts a guide member installed on the underwater station and guides the hull to a predetermined position, and detects that the guide arm contacts the guide member And the autonomous navigation control device may be configured to hold the operating state of the thrust device as it is when the sensor detects that the guide arm has contacted the guide member. . Here, “movement” is a concept including up / down / left / right parallel movement and turning movement, and “posture change” is a concept representing a change of moving the bow in the pitch direction or the yaw direction.

  In this way, even if the submarine moves forward on the entry line to the underwater station and a slight vertical / horizontal misalignment occurs, the guide arm is guided by the guide member, so that the autonomous unmanned submersible Automatic docking to the underwater station can be realized by automatically correcting the vertical and horizontal positions. At that time, if the target transponder position deviates from the actual position, for example, to the left or right due to a positioning error or the like, the operation direction of the left / right position control and the operation direction of the position shift correction by the guide mechanism may be opposite to cause interference. Conceivable.

  Therefore, when the sensor detects that the guide arm is in contact with the guide member, the external force in the lateral direction due to disturbance such as tidal current is canceled by holding the command value for the lateral position control at the value at that time. As a result, the operation of correcting the misalignment by the guide mechanism can be made smooth. Further, in the hold process, the vertical position control and the attitude control may be held in accordance with the direction and direction of disturbance such as tidal current.

  An altitude sonar capable of detecting an altitude that is a distance from the bottom of the underwater and a depth sensor capable of detecting a depth that is a distance from the water surface, and the autonomous navigation control device includes an altitude detected by the altitude sonar Combined with the depth detected by the depth sensor, the total depth to the bottom of the water is calculated, the difference between the total depth and a preset target altitude is obtained as the target depth, and the target depth and the depth sensor are detected. It is good also as a structure controlled so that the deviation with the depth to be made becomes small.

  In this way, since both the altitude sonar and the depth sensor are used, the position of the submarine can be correctly controlled in the height direction when reaching the target point. At that time, an advanced sonar that has a wide sampling time interval but is generally reliable in detection by sound waves, and a depth sensor that can be sampled continuously, although it is generally affected by the rise and fall of the water surface by detection by water pressure By combining the two, it is possible to perform control with continuity and high reliability.

  Further, the underwater navigation method of the autonomous unmanned submersible of the present invention detects the self-position on virtual fixed coordinates by dead reckoning navigation, detects the relative distance and azimuth of the transponder installed in the underwater station by acoustic positioning, Calculating the position of the target transponder on the fixed coordinates by combining the relative distance and direction of the transponder detected by the acoustic positioning with the self-position on the fixed coordinates detected by dead reckoning. It is characterized by.

  In this case, as described above, the position of the transponder is not grasped on the basis of the moving submarine, but the detection position of the transponder is grasped by the acoustic positioning device on the basis of the fixed coordinates by dead reckoning navigation. Can be reduced.

  In addition, the autonomous unmanned submersible of the present invention is a dead reckoning navigation device capable of calculating its own position on a virtual fixed coordinate by calculating a motion history, and its relative distance and direction with respect to a transponder installed in water by acoustic positioning. Detectable acoustic positioning device, self-position on fixed coordinates calculated by dead reckoning navigation device, and relative distance and direction detected by acoustic positioning device to the transponder position on fixed coordinates are calculated And an autonomous navigation control device that corrects the self-position on the fixed coordinates using the self-position on the fixed coordinates.

  In this way, not only the self-relative distance / direction data from the transponder obtained by acoustic positioning, but also the self-position data on the fixed coordinates of the submarine acquired by dead reckoning navigation can be used. The self-position can be corrected with high accuracy.

  The autonomous navigation control device obtains each deviation between a plurality of self-positions calculated in the past by the dead reckoning device and a plurality of self-positions calculated in the past by the acoustic positioning device, and calculates an average of the deviations. It is good also as a structure which correct | amends the self position on a fixed coordinate by adding to the present self position. The current self-position may be obtained by either dead reckoning navigation device or acoustic positioning device.

  In this way, a deviation is taken between a plurality of self-positions obtained in time series by the dead reckoning navigation device and a plurality of self-positions obtained in time series by the acoustic positioning device, and each deviation is averaged. Since the average deviation obtained in this way is corrected by reflecting it in the current self-position, more accurate self-position data can be obtained. At that time, in order to further suppress the influence of positioning error, a predetermined number of self-position data is excluded from the self-position data calculated for each positioning in descending order of the distance from the correction position, and again the deviation average Processing may be performed. Alternatively, among the self-position data calculated for each positioning, self-position data that is a predetermined distance or more away from the correction position may be excluded and the deviation averaging process may be performed again.

  As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, in the position measurement of the transponder arranged underwater, the position of the transponder is not grasped on the basis of the moving submarine but is fixed by the dead reckoning navigation device. Since the position of the target transponder is measured by combining the azimuth and distance data to the transponder acquired by the acoustic positioning device with reference to the self-position data on the coordinates, it is possible to improve the positioning accuracy Become. Further, if a spatial averaging process or a filter process is performed on a plurality of transponder positions calculated in the past, the position of the transponder on the fixed coordinates is corrected, and accurate position data of the transponder can be obtained. In addition, the self-position on the fixed coordinates calculated by dead reckoning and the self-position on the fixed coordinates calculated by matching the self-relative distance and direction to the transponder position on the fixed coordinates detected by acoustic positioning are used. If so, the self-position on the fixed coordinates can be corrected.

Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1A is a side view showing the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 and the underwater station 20 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a plan view. The autonomous unmanned submersible 1 navigates using a battery (not shown) as a power source, and does not require an operator's operation, a signal line, or a power line, and autonomously performs ocean observation and seabed search. If the battery power decreases, the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 docks the underwater station 20 to charge the battery, and at the same time transmits the underwater acquisition data to the land via the underwater station 20, The command is received via the underwater station 20.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), the underwater station 20 is a plate-like member that is long and fixed to the sea floor along the entry line EL, and is located on the back side (opposite to the entry side) on the entry line EL. The transponder 23 is erected on the side. A fitting member 24 for positioning the hull 2 of the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 is erected on the approach line EL on the approach side from the transponder 23. On the entry line EL on the entry side of the fitting member 24, there is a connector 25 that performs charging, data communication, etc. by non-contact power feeding (inductive power feeding) to a battery (not shown) built in the autonomous unmanned submersible 1. It is erected.

  On the entry line EL on the entry side of the connector 25, a frame-shaped guide member 21 for guiding the autonomous unmanned submersible machine 1 to a predetermined position is erected. The guide member 21 has taper portions 21c and 21d formed in a substantially V shape in plan view, and an entry line EL continuously from the back end (end portion opposite to the entry side) of the taper portions 21c and 21d. The straight portions 21e and 21f that are parallel to each other and the capturing portions 22A and 22B that protrude left and right at the back ends of the straight portions 21e and 21f are provided. Support leg portions 21a and 21b are suspended from the connection portion between the taper portion 21c and the taper portion 21d and the connection portion between the taper portions 21c and 21d and the linear portions 21e and 21f and fixed to the underwater station 20.

  The autonomous unmanned submersible 1 is provided with a front sonar 8 that measures the distance from a front obstacle at the front end of the hull 2, and a lower obstacle (a seabed or underwater station) on the rear side of the bottom of the hull 2. Etc.) is equipped with an advanced sonar 9.

  A main propulsion unit 11 for generating a forward thrust is provided at the rearmost part of the hull 2. A front vertical thruster 6A that generates a vertical thrust and a front horizontal thruster 7A that generates a horizontal thrust are provided at the front of the hull 2. A rear vertical thruster 6B that generates vertical thrust and a front horizontal thruster 7B that generates horizontal thrust are also provided at the rear of the hull 2. That is, the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 can control the front-rear direction by the main propulsion unit 11, the vertical direction and the pitch direction by the vertical thrusters 6A and 6B, and the five degrees of freedom of rotation and translation by the horizontal thrusters 7A and 7B. .

  On the front side of the bottom surface of the hull 2, a fitted member 12 that is fitted with the fitting member 24 of the underwater station 20 to position and fix the hull 2 is provided. In the center of the bottom surface of the hull 2, a connector 13 that engages with a connector 25 of the underwater station 20 to charge a battery (not shown) built in the hull 2 or perform data communication by non-contact power feeding (inductive power feeding). Is provided. In addition, a depth sensor 10 that detects the depth from the seawater surface by water pressure is provided inside the hull 2.

  In the hull 2, an inertial navigation device (INS) 3 is provided as a dead reckoning navigation device capable of calculating its own position on a virtual fixed coordinate from a motion history. The inertial navigation device 3 includes an accelerometer that detects three-dimensional acceleration and a gyro that detects posture change. The inertial navigation device 3 has fixed coordinates by inertial navigation that cumulatively calculates speed and posture change from the starting point. It is the composition which can grasp the self position in the upper part.

  An SSBL (Super Short Base Line) type acoustic positioning device 4 capable of detecting the relative distance and direction of the transponder 23 installed in the underwater station 20 by acoustic positioning is provided on the lower front side of the hull 2. The acoustic positioning device 4 transmits an interrogation signal from the transmitter and receives a response signal returned from the transponder 23 by the receiver array. From the transmission of the interrogation signal to the reception of the response signal The distance to the transponder 23 is calculated based on the time of the above, and the orientation of the transponder 23 is calculated based on the phase difference of the response signals received by each element of the receiver array.

  Capture arms (guide arms) 15A and 15B supported by a rotatable rotating shaft 14 are provided on both the left and right sides of the hull 2 so as to be swingable obliquely rearward. Hook portions 16A and 16B are formed at the tips of the right capturing arm 15A and the left capturing arm 15B, respectively, and the guide member 21 of the underwater station 20 is in contact with each receiving surface of each hook portion 16A and 16B. A detectable right capture sensor 17A and a left capture sensor 17B are respectively attached.

  In the hull 2, the relative position and direction of the transponder 23 detected by the acoustic positioning device 4 are combined with the self-position on the fixed coordinate grasped by the inertial navigation device 3. An autonomous navigation control device 5 capable of calculating the position at is provided.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the autonomous navigation control device 5 mounted on the autonomous unmanned submersible 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the autonomous navigation control device 5 includes an action plan data storage unit 30, a forward speed control unit 31, an azimuth control unit 32, a horizontal / vertical thruster thrust distribution unit 33, a target position calculation unit 34, a left-right position deviation. A calculation unit 35, a left / right position control unit 36, a capture determination unit 37, a hold processing unit 38 and a changeover switch 39 are provided.

  The action plan data storage unit 30 has a function of storing setting information such as the approach speed of the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 to the underwater station 20 and the direction of the approach line EL with respect to the underwater station 20. The forward speed control unit 31 performs a feedback control of the driving force of the main propulsion device 11 so as to reduce the deviation between the approach speed data stored in the action plan data storage unit 30 and the speed data obtained from the inertial navigation device 3. Have The direction control unit 32 has a function of outputting a turn command so as to reduce the deviation between the direction of the approach line EL stored in the action plan data storage unit 30 and the heading obtained from the inertial navigation device 3. The horizontal / vertical thruster thrust distribution unit 33 has a function of adjusting the thrust balance of the horizontal thrusters 7A and 7B and the vertical thrusters 6A and 6B based on the turning command from the azimuth control unit 32.

  The target position calculation unit 34 determines the position (target position) of the target transponder 23 based on the hull position / posture information obtained from the inertial navigation device 3 and the relative distance and direction information of the transponder 23 obtained from the acoustic positioning device 4. And an entry line EL that passes through the transponder 23 and is in a predetermined approach direction (this approach direction is determined when the underwater station is installed). The left / right position deviation calculation unit 35 has a function of outputting the left / right position deviation between the approach line EL obtained by the target position calculation unit 34 and the axis of the hull 2. The left / right position control unit 36 has a function of outputting a command to the horizontal / vertical thruster thrust distribution unit 33 so as to reduce the left / right position deviation output from the left / right position deviation calculation unit 35.

  The capture determination unit 37 has a function of determining that one or both of the right capture sensor 17 </ b> A and the left capture sensor 17 </ b> B has contacted the guide member 21 of the underwater station 20. The hold processing unit 38 has a function of causing the horizontal / vertical thruster thrust distribution unit 33 to hold the operation states of the horizontal thrusters 7A and 7B and the vertical thrusters 6A and 6B as they are. The changeover switch 39 shuts off the output from the left and right position control unit 36 and holds the output when the capture determination unit 37 determines that only one of the right capture sensor 17A or the left capture sensor 17B is in contact with the guide member 21. It has a function of switching so that the output from the processing unit 38 is transmitted to the horizontal / vertical thruster thrust distribution unit 33.

  Next, the procedure of automatic docking to the underwater station 20 by the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining underwater navigation of the autonomous unmanned submersible 1. As shown in FIG. 3, when the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 navigating the seabed returns to the underwater station 20 and performs automatic docking, the submersible 1 does not go directly to the underwater station 20 but enters the approach line EL The guide member 21 is guided in two stages so as to go to the underwater station 20 after passing through the docking entry point P virtually set at a predetermined distance in the entry direction.

First, the autonomous navigation control device 5 virtually forms fixed coordinates based on the position data of the inertial navigation device 3 after the acoustic positioning device 4 enters an area where it can communicate with the transponder 23. Then, the position on the fixed coordinate of the transponder 23 installed in the underwater station 20 is measured by the inertial navigation device 3 and the acoustic positioning device 4, and a predetermined direction (angle θ _D in the fixed coordinate) and a predetermined distance from the position. The target position calculation unit 34 of the autonomous navigation control device 5 calculates the position of the docking entry point P. Then, the autonomous navigation control device 5 performs automatic guidance control (a three-degree-of-freedom control of forward speed, direction, and altitude) with the docking entry point P as a target position. When the autonomous navigation control device 5 determines that the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 has reached the docking approach point P, the horizontal thrusters 7A and 7B direct the bow along the approach line EL. Then, the docking control for moving forward on the approach line EL while obtaining the relative position and direction of the transponder 23 with the hull 2 by the autonomous navigation control device 5 (5-degree-of-freedom control of forward speed, left and right position, direction, altitude, and pitch) I do.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the calculation process of the transponder position by the autonomous unmanned submersible 1. FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining the calculation of the transponder position by the autonomous unmanned submersible 1. As shown in FIG. 4, first, the position of the transponder 23 of the target underwater station 20 (relative position with respect to the hull 2) is measured by the acoustic positioning device 4 (step S1). Further, the position of the hull 2 on fixed coordinates virtually provided underwater is measured by the inertial navigation device 3 (step S2). Then, in the autonomous navigation control device 5, a calculation is performed by combining the relative distance and direction to the transponder 23 detected by the acoustic positioning device 4 with respect to the self-position on the fixed coordinates observed by the inertial navigation device 3. Thus, the position of the target transponder 23 on the fixed coordinates is calculated (step S3).

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the position on the fixed coordinate of the hull 2 observed by the inertial navigation device 3 is expressed as x _A , y _A , and the relative distance from the transponder 23 measured by the acoustic positioning device 4. If L _S , the angle of the hull axis D observed by the inertial navigation device 3 with respect to the Y axis is θ _A , and the error angle of the orientation of the transponder 23 measured by the acoustic positioning device 4 with respect to the hull axis D is θ _S , the transponder 23 The position (x _T , y _T ) on the fixed coordinates can be calculated by the following Equation 1.

次いで、所定時間間隔でステップＳ３の目標位置（トランスポンダ位置）を計算し、算出された目標位置の直近の過去６点分を自律航行制御装置５の記憶装置（図示せず）に保存する（ステップＳ４）。そして、該記憶領域に履歴情報として過去６点の目標位置が保持されているか否かを判定する（ステップＳ５）。ここで、まだ目標位置のデータ数が６点未満しか保持されていない場合には、過去の保存されている全ての目標位置の重心Ｂを計算する空間平均処理を行う（ステップＳ６）。

Next, the target position (transponder position) of step S3 is calculated at predetermined time intervals, and the last six points of the calculated target position are stored in a storage device (not shown) of the autonomous navigation control device 5 (step). S4). Then, it is determined whether or not the past six target positions are held as history information in the storage area (step S5). Here, when the number of data of the target position is still less than 6 points, a spatial averaging process is performed to calculate the centroid B of all the target positions stored in the past (step S6).

FIG. 6 is a plan view for explaining a spatial average of transponder positions by the autonomous unmanned submersible 1. As shown in FIG. 6, the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 obtains the spatial average of the target positions (transponder positions) 231 to 233 on the fixed coordinates measured by the autonomous navigation control device 5 according to Equation 2, and is obtained thereby. The center of gravity B is corrected as the target position X _T (vector notation). Here, the vector X _i represents positioning data, and n represents the number of sampling points.

そして、図４に示すように、自律航行制御装置５の目標位置計算部３４（図２）は、重心Ｂを目標位置（トランスポンダ位置）に設定して出力する（ステップＳ７）。

And as shown in FIG. 4, the target position calculation part 34 (FIG. 2) of the autonomous navigation control apparatus 5 sets and outputs the gravity center B as a target position (transponder position) (step S7).

  Further, in step S5, when the number of data of the target position is held in the past six points, a positioning error removal process is performed in addition to the spatial average in the following steps S8 to S10.

  FIG. 7 is a plan view for explaining the spatial average of the transponder position and the positioning error removal process by the autonomous unmanned submersible 1. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the target position calculation unit 34 (FIG. 2) of the autonomous navigation control device 5 calculates the center of gravity A of the past six target positions 231 to 236 and performs spatial averaging (step S8). . Next, the target position calculation unit 34 calculates the distance between the center of gravity A and the past six points of the target position, extracts the four target positions 231, 232, 233, and 235 in order from the closest to the center of gravity A and removes the positioning error. (Step S9). Then, the target position calculation unit 34 performs a spatial average for calculating the centroid B using only the four extracted points (step S10), sets the centroid B as a target position (transponder position), and outputs it (step S7). .

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the guidance of the autonomous unmanned submersible device 1 to the docking entry point P. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 8, the target position calculation unit 34 of the autonomous navigation control device 5 performs the spatial average of the target position and the positioning error removal process as described above (step S11), and the target calculated thereby. The position on the fixed coordinates of the docking entry point P set at a predetermined azimuth and distance from the position is calculated (step S12).

  Then, the left / right position deviation calculation unit 35 calculates a deviation between the orientation of the docking entry point P and the hull axis so as to automatically navigate toward the docking entry point P, and the left / right position control unit corrects the deviation. 36 instructs the horizontal / vertical thruster thrust distribution unit 33 to drive the horizontal thrusters 7A and 7B and the vertical thrusters 6A and 6B (step S13).

  When it is determined from the information from the inertial navigation device 3 that the hull 2 has reached the docking entry point P (step S14), the target calculation unit 34 converts the heading of the hull 2 into a target position (transponder position) (step S14). S15). This completes the guidance control to the docking entry point P (step S16) and shifts to the docking control (precision control) mode (step S17).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining docking control of the autonomous unmanned submersible 1. FIG. 10 is a plan view for explaining the docking control of the autonomous unmanned submersible 1. FIGS. 11A to 11D are plan views for explaining docking of the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 to the underwater station 20. As shown in FIGS. 2, 9, and 10, the target position calculation unit 34 of the autonomous navigation control apparatus 5 performs the spatial average and positioning error removal processing of the target position as described above to obtain the center of gravity B (step S20). the line of approach EL set in the direction of its passing through the center of gravity B is a target position and a predetermined angle theta _D calculated by the fixed coordinate (step S21). Then, a lateral position deviation L between the line of approach EL in the left and right positional deviation calculation unit 35, and a heading deviation theta _B of the approach line EL is calculated (step S22).

Then, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 11A, either the right capture sensor 17A of the hook portion 16A of the right capture arm 15A or the left capture sensor 17B of the hook portion 16B of the left capture arm 15B serves as the guide member 21. Until contact is made (step S23), left-right position control, bearing control, altitude control, pitch control, and speed control are executed, and the hull 2 is controlled to travel straight on the approach line EL (step S24). For the height direction, the information of the acoustic positioning device 4, the depth sensor 10, and the altitude sonar 9 can be used, but after reaching the underwater station 20, the information of the most reliable altitude sonar 9 is used as the relative position information. To do. (The depth varies depending on the sea level.)
As shown in FIG. 11 (b), when the right capture sensor 17A detects that the hook portion 16A of the right capture arm 15A has captured the right tapered portion 21c of the guide member 21 of the underwater station 20, the capture determination unit 37 If it is determined (step S23), the changeover switch 39 is switched so that the hold processing unit 38 (FIG. 2) is turned on, and the left-right position control is held as it is (step S25).

  Specifically, in FIG. 11, when the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 enters the underwater station 20, the shift in the left direction with respect to the approach line EL is corrected by the capturing mechanism. However, when the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 is moving forward along the approach line EL, the hull 2 is feedback-controlled with respect to the left and right positions with respect to the approach line EL. As shown in FIG. 11, the case where the hull 2 is shifted to the left is moved to the left due to sudden disturbance, and the approach line calculated by the autonomous navigation control device 5 is moved to the left due to an error. The case where it has shifted to is considered. In the latter case, even if the hook portion 16A of the right catching arm 15A comes into contact with the guide member 21 and a force is applied to correct the hull 2 toward the center, the hull 2 moves toward the approach line shifted to the left by the left-right position control. Therefore, the horizontal thrusters 7A and 7B are operated so as to resist the correction force by the guide member 21.

  Further, in order to resist the tidal current disturbance, the left / right position control is usually incorporated with integral control, and in this case, the movement of the right / left direction is restricted by the hook portion 16A of the right catching arm 15A coming into contact with the guide member 21. Then, the amount of operation in the left-right direction increases due to the integral control. As described above, since the capture mechanism and the left-right position control interfere with each other, control for avoiding this interference is necessary.

Therefore, when the right capture sensor 17A detects that the hook portion 16A of the right capture arm 15A has captured the right taper portion 21c of the guide member 21, the left-right position control is turned off, and the hook portion 16A is connected to the guide member 21. The right / left position control command value is held (fixed value output) immediately before contact. Here, the command value is held instead of being zero, because the hull 2 moves forward without flowing in the left-right direction in the state where the current flow in the left-right direction occurs, and thus resists the tidal current. This is to maintain the left and right thruster force. In other words, if the right and left position control command value is set to zero when the right capture arm 15A comes into contact with the guide member 21, there is no thrust to cancel the lateral force caused by the tidal current, and the situation that the position correction by the capture mechanism does not function normally can occur. It is. In the present embodiment, only the left / right position control is held, but the up / down position control may also be held.

  As described above, as shown in FIG. 11C, the position of the hull 2 is corrected to the center while the right catching arm 15A is guided by the tapered portion 21c of the guide member 21, and as shown in FIG. 11D. In addition, both the hook portion 16A of the right capture arm 15A and the hook portion 16B of the left capture arm 15B are locked to the left and right capture portions 22A and 22B provided at the end of the guide member 21. As described above, when the coupling of the capture mechanisms is detected from both the right capture sensor 17A and the left capture sensor 17B (step S26), the capture determination unit 37 (FIG. 2) of the autonomous navigation control device 5 indicates that the capture is complete. A determination is made (step S27), and the engagement determination unit 37 commands a fitting operation control unit (not shown) to perform the fitting operation (docking) to the underwater station 20 (step S28).

  FIGS. 12A and 12B are side views illustrating docking of the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 to the underwater station 20. As shown in FIGS. 12 (a) and 12 (b), the vertical thruster is moved from the state in which the hook portions 16A, 16B of both the right capture arm 15A and the left capture arm 15B are locked to the capture portions 22A, 22B of the guide member 21. The hull 2 is lowered by the thrust of 6A and 6B. At that time, the state in which the hook portions 16A and 16B are locked to the capturing portions 22A and 22B is maintained due to the inertia that the hull 2 has moved forward. And the fitting member 24 of the underwater station 20 is fitted to the fitted member 12 of the hull 2 to position the autonomous unmanned submersible 1, and the connector 25 of the underwater station 20 is fitted to the connector 13 of the hull 2. Combined.

  With the configuration described above, the position of the transponder 23 is not grasped on the basis of the moving submersible 1, but the transponder 23 is set on the basis of fixed coordinates virtually provided by the inertial navigation device 3 and the acoustic positioning device 4. Since the position is grasped, the positioning error can be reduced. Further, since the fixed coordinates may be virtually formed based on the position data of the inertial navigation device 3 after the acoustic positioning device 4 enters the area where it can communicate with the transponder 23, the data of the inertial navigation device 3 is the starting point. Therefore, the influence of the error of the inertial navigation device 3 is greatly reduced.

  In addition, fixed coordinates are set with reference to the position data of the inertial navigation device 3, the position data for each positioning by the acoustic positioning device 4 is spatially averaged, and positioning error elimination processing is also performed, so the calculated target position ( The observation accuracy of the transponder position is improved.

  Furthermore, when the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 returns to the underwater station 20, the two-step guidance toward the underwater station 20 is performed along the approach line EL after reaching the docking entry point P once. Therefore, the hull 2 can enter the underwater station 20 in the correct direction and posture, and the docking operation is performed smoothly and accurately.

  Further, when it is detected that only the hook portion 16A of the right capture arm 15A is in contact with the guide member 21, the operation states of the horizontal thrusters 7A and 7B and the vertical thrusters 6A and 6B are held as they are. Interference between the mechanism and the left-right position control can also be avoided.

FIG. 13 is a plot of test data for automatic docking of the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 to the underwater station 20. FIG. 13 shows a state where the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 is automatically docked to the underwater station 20 via the docking entry point P. As shown in FIG. 13, the measurement position (raw data) of the transponder 23 varies greatly, and when the entry line EL is set based on this position, the entry line EL fluctuates left and right. By averaging, the variation in the positioning position is reduced and the variation of the approach line EL is reduced. Therefore, the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 has succeeded in automatic docking. In FIG. 13, the autonomous unmanned submersible 1 is displaced in the left-right direction on the underwater station 20, but the position is corrected to the center of the underwater station 20 by the capture mechanism and the left-right position control hold. Can also be confirmed.
(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. The difference from the first embodiment is that filter processing is used instead of spatial averaging as a method of correcting the measured target position (transponder position).

Assuming that the corrected target position is vector X _T , the filter coefficient is α (0 <α <1; constant), the currently measured target position is vector X _P , and the previously corrected target position is vector X _T−1 , The filtering process is performed using the following Equation 3.

なお、初回に計測されたトランスポンダ位置は、数式３を用いずにそのままベクトルＸ_１として採用するとよい。以上によれば、空間平均処理と同様にトランスポンダ位置の計測精度を向上することができる。

Note that the transponder position measured for the first time may be adopted as the vector X ₁ as it is without using Equation 3. According to the above, it is possible to improve the measurement accuracy of the transponder position as in the spatial averaging process.

In the above description, the filter coefficient α is a constant, but may be a variable. Specifically, the following equation 4 is used to set the filter coefficient α as a variable inversely proportional to the distance (| X _P −X _T−1 |) between the transponder position calculated this time and the previously corrected transponder position. Good. Β is a weighting coefficient (constant).

このようにすると、今回測位された目標位置Ｘ_Ｐが前回補正された固定座標上の目標位置Ｘ_Ｔ−１から離れている場合には、フィルタ係数αが小さくなって補正処理への反映度が小さくなる一方、今回測位された目標位置Ｘ_Ｐが前回補正された固定座標上の目標位置Ｘ_Ｔ−１と近い場合には、フィルタ係数αが大きくなって補正処理への反映度は大きくなる。したがって、トランスポンダ位置の検出精度が向上すると共に、補正処理の収束性も向上する。なお、他の構成は第１実施形態と同様であるため説明を省略する。
（第３実施形態）
次に、第３実施形態について説明する。第１実施形態では高さ方向の位置情報として主に高度ソーナー９の情報を使用していたが、本実施形態では高度ソーナー９と深度センサ１０の両方を利用している。

In this way, when positioning the target position X _P this is far from the target position X _T-1 on the fixed coordinate the previously corrected, reflected in the degree to correction processing filter coefficient α becomes smaller while smaller, when positioning the target position X _P is close to the target position X _T-1 on the fixed coordinates was last corrected this time, reflecting the degree to correction processing filter coefficient α becomes large increases. Therefore, the detection accuracy of the transponder position is improved and the convergence of the correction process is also improved. Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.
(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, information on the altitude sonar 9 is mainly used as position information in the height direction, but in the present embodiment, both the altitude sonar 9 and the depth sensor 10 are used.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating height control according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 14, the autonomous navigation control device 5 detects the depth d, which is the distance from the water surface, by the depth sensor 10, and uses the altitude sonar 9 to detect the bottom surface (when the submersible 1 is not on the underwater station 20. Means the bottom of the sea, and when on the underwater station 20 means the surface of the underwater station). Then, an average altitude h _ave is obtained by averaging a plurality of altitude data recently obtained by the altitude sonar 9. Then, the total depth d _T from the water surface to the water bottom is calculated by the following formula 5.

次いで、自律航行制御装置５は、以下の数式６により全深度Ｄ_Ｔから予め設定された目標高度ｈ_ｃｏｎｓとの差を目標深度Ｄとして求める。

Next, the autonomous navigation control device 5 obtains a difference from the target depth h _cons set in advance from the total depth _DT as the target depth D according to the following Equation 6.

そして、自律航行制御装置５は、この目標深度Ｄと深度センサ１０で検出される現在の深度ｄとの偏差が小さくなるようにフィードバック制御しながら、潜水機１の高さ制御を行う。

And the autonomous navigation control apparatus 5 performs height control of the submersible 1 while performing feedback control so that the deviation between the target depth D and the current depth d detected by the depth sensor 10 is small.

In this way, since the altitude sonar 9 and the depth sensor 10 are used in combination, it is possible to perform height control with high accuracy while compensating for each other's drawbacks. In other words, the depth sensor 10 that can sample continuously by the water pressure compensates for the disadvantage that the sampling time interval of the advanced sonar 9 having the advantage that it is not affected by the elevation of the water surface, so that the control is continuous and reliable. Can be performed. Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.
(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. The difference from the first embodiment is that, instead of correcting the position of the transponder 23, the position of the submersible 1 is calculated by back-calculating the position of the submersible 1 from the transponder position on the fixed coordinates by acoustic positioning. It is a point to correct.

  FIG. 15 is a plan view for explaining position correction of the autonomous unmanned submersible according to the fourth embodiment. Each of the submersibles 1 represented by a broken line in FIG. 15 indicates the past self-position of the submersible 1 on the fixed coordinates calculated in time series by the inertial navigation device 3. Further, each of the submersibles 1 represented by a chain line in FIG. 15 obtains the relative distance and azimuth of the submersible 1 with respect to the transponder 23 calculated in time series by the acoustic positioning device 4, and is set in a fixed manner. The self-position of the submarine 1 obtained by taking the difference in the relative distance and the direction from the position of the transponder 23 on the coordinates is shown.

  The autonomous navigation control device 5 obtains the self position of the submersible device 1 by the inertial navigation device 3 as described above, and also obtains the self position of the submersible device 1 by the acoustic side device 4. At this time, the inertial navigation apparatus 3 recognizes that the vehicle is navigating correctly toward the transponder 23 on fixed coordinates as shown in FIG. . On the other hand, in the acoustic positioning device 4, there is a variation for each sampling due to a positioning error.

Therefore, the autonomous navigation control device 5 is arranged between a plurality of self-positions obtained in time series by the acoustic positioning device and a plurality of self-positions obtained by the inertial navigation device 3 corresponding to each time of the self-position. Then, each deviation A _i (i is a natural number) is taken, and an average deviation A _ave obtained by averaging each deviation A _i is obtained by the following Equation 7.

次いで、以下の数式８により、慣性航法装置３あるいは音響側位装置４で得られる現在の自己位置Ｙ_ｐ（ベクトル表記）に対してその平均偏差Ａ_ａｖｅを加算することで、固定座標上における潜水機１の補正後の自己位置Ｙ_Ｔ（ベクトル表記）が求められる。

Next, by adding the average deviation A _ave to the current self-position Y _p (vector notation) obtained by the inertial navigation device 3 or the acoustic side device 4 according to the following formula 8, the diving on the fixed coordinates The corrected self position Y _T (vector notation) of the machine 1 is obtained.

以上のようにすれば、音響測位で取得されるトランスポンダ２３からの潜水機１の相対距離・方位データだけでなく、慣性航法で取得される潜水機１の固定座標上の自己位置データも併せて用いることで、固定座標上における自己位置を精度よく補正することができる。なお、測位誤差の影響を更に抑制するため、測位毎に算出された各自己位置データのうち、補正位置との距離が大きいものから順に所定数の自己位置データを除外し、再度、平均処理を行ってもよい。また、他の構成は第１実施形態と同様であるため説明を省略する。
（第５実施形態）
次に、第５実施形態について説明する。第４実施形態との相違点は、計測された潜水機１の自己位置を補正する方法として、空間平均の代わりにフィルタ処理を用いている点である。

As described above, not only the relative distance / azimuth data of the diving machine 1 from the transponder 23 obtained by acoustic positioning, but also the self-position data on the fixed coordinates of the diving machine 1 obtained by inertial navigation. By using it, the self-position on the fixed coordinates can be accurately corrected. In order to further suppress the influence of positioning error, a predetermined number of self-position data is excluded in order from the self-position data calculated for each positioning in descending order of the correction position, and the averaging process is performed again. You may go. Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.
(Fifth embodiment)
Next, a fifth embodiment will be described. The difference from the fourth embodiment is that, as a method of correcting the measured self-position of the submersible 1, a filter process is used instead of the spatial average.

The corrected self-position is the vector Y _T , the filter coefficient is α (0 <α <1; constant), the self-position measured this time by the inertial navigation device 3 is the vector ΔY _P1 , and the self-position measured this time by the acoustic positioning device 4 Assuming that the position is the vector Y _P2 and the self-position after the previous correction is the vector Y _T−1 , the filtering process is performed using the following Equation 9.

なお、初回に計測された潜水機１の自己位置は、数式９を用いずに、（Ｙ_ｐ１＋Ｙ_ｐ２）／２をベクトルＹ_１として採用するとよい。以上によれば、平均処理と同様に潜水機１の位置の計測精度を向上することができる。

Incidentally, the self-position of the submarine vehicle 1 that is measured in the first time, without using the equation _9, it _is preferable to employ a _{(Y p1 + Y p2) /} 2 as a vector _{Y 1.} According to the above, the measurement accuracy of the position of the submersible 1 can be improved as in the averaging process.

In the above description, the filter coefficient α is a constant, but may be a variable. Specifically, the following equation 10 is used to calculate the amount of movement obtained by the inertial navigation device between the position of the submarine 1 calculated from the current acoustic positioning data and the position of the submarine 1 corrected last time. May be a variable inversely proportional to the distance (| Y _P2 − (Y _T−1 + ΔY _p1 |) between the current estimated position of the submarine 1 obtained by adding β, where β is a weighting factor (constant). is there.

このようにすると、今回算出された固定座標上の位置Ｙ_Ｐが前回補正された位置Ｘ_Ｔ−１から離れている場合には、フィルタ係数αが小さくなって補正処理への反映度が小さくなる一方、今回算出された位置Ｙ_Ｐが前回補正された位置Ｙ_Ｔ−１と近い場合には、フィルタ係数αが大きくなって補正処理への反映度は大きくなる。したがって、潜水機１の自己位置の検出精度が向上すると共に、補正処理の収束性も向上する。なお、他の構成は第４実施形態と同様であるため説明を省略する。

In this way, when the position Y _P on the fixed coordinates calculated this time is distant from the position X _T-1 that was last correction, reflection degree of the correction process filter coefficient α is reduced is reduced on the other hand, when the position Y _P that has been calculated this time is closer to the position Y _T-1 that was last correction, reflection degree of the correction process filter coefficient α becomes large increases. Therefore, the detection accuracy of the self position of the diving machine 1 is improved, and the convergence of the correction process is also improved. Since other configurations are the same as those of the fourth embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, the autonomous unmanned submersible and its underwater navigation method according to the present invention have an excellent effect that can improve the positioning accuracy of the transponder fixed to the underwater station. It is suitable for application to a large autonomous unmanned submersible.

(A) is a side view which shows the autonomous unmanned submersible and the underwater station which concern on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (b) is a top view. It is a block diagram explaining the autonomous navigation control apparatus of the autonomous unmanned submersible shown in FIG. It is a top view explaining the underwater navigation of the autonomous unmanned submersible shown in FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the calculation process of the transponder position by the autonomous unmanned submersible shown in FIG. It is a top view explaining calculation of the transponder position by the autonomous unmanned submersible shown in FIG. It is a top view explaining the space average of the transponder position by the autonomous unmanned submersible shown in FIG. It is a top view explaining the spatial average of a transponder position by the autonomous unmanned submersible shown in FIG. 1, and a positioning error removal process. It is a flowchart explaining the guidance to the docking approach point of the autonomous unmanned submersible shown in FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the docking control of the autonomous unmanned submersible shown in FIG. It is a top view explaining the docking control of the autonomous unmanned submersible shown in FIG. (A)-(d) is a top view explaining the docking to the underwater station of the autonomous unmanned submersible shown in FIG. (A) and (b) are side views explaining the docking to the underwater station of the autonomous unmanned submersible shown in FIG. It is a plot figure of the test data of the automatic docking to the underwater station of the autonomous unmanned submersible shown in FIG. It is drawing explaining height control of 3rd Embodiment. It is a top view explaining position correction of an autonomous unmanned submersible of a 4th embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Autonomous unmanned submersible 2 Hull 3 Inertial navigation device (dead reckoning device)
4 Acoustic positioning device 5 Autonomous navigation control device 6A Front vertical thruster (thrust device)
6B Rear vertical thruster (thrust device)
7A Front horizontal thruster (thrust device)
7B Rear horizontal thruster (thrust device)
9 Altitude sonar 10 Depth sensor 15A, 15B Guide arm 16A, 16B Hook part 17A, 17B Capture sensor (sensor)
20 Underwater station 21 Guide member 23 Transponder P Docking entry point

Claims (10)

Dead reckoning device capable of calculating self-position on virtual fixed coordinates by calculating motion history;
An acoustic positioning device capable of detecting the relative distance and orientation of a transponder placed in water by acoustic positioning;
Autonomous calculation of the position of the transponder on the fixed coordinate by combining the relative distance and direction of the transponder detected by the acoustic positioning device with the self-position on the fixed coordinate calculated by the dead reckoning navigation device An autonomous unmanned submersible, comprising: a navigation control device.   2. The autonomous unmanned submersible according to claim 1, wherein the autonomous navigation control device is configured to correct the position of the transponder on a fixed coordinate using history information of a transponder position calculated in the past.   The autonomous unmanned submersible according to claim 2, wherein the autonomous navigation control device is configured to correct a position of the transponder on a fixed coordinate by spatially averaging a plurality of transponder positions calculated in the past.   The autonomous navigation control device adds a filter coefficient α (0 <α <1) multiplied by the transponder position calculated this time and a value obtained by multiplying the previously corrected transponder position by 1-α. The autonomous unmanned submersible according to claim 2, which is configured to correct the position of the transponder on fixed coordinates by performing processing.   The autonomous unmanned submersible according to claim 4, wherein the filter coefficient is a variable that is inversely proportional to the distance between the transponder position calculated this time and the previously corrected transponder position.   2. The autonomous navigation control device is configured to calculate a docking approach point at a predetermined distance and direction from a position of the calculated transponder on a fixed coordinate and set a route via the docking approach point. The autonomous unmanned submersible machine according to any one of 5 to 5. A thrust device that moves or changes the attitude of the hull,
A guide arm that contacts a guide member installed on the underwater station and guides the hull to a predetermined position;
A sensor for detecting that the guide arm is in contact with the guide member;
7. The autonomous navigation control device according to claim 1, wherein when the sensor detects that the guide arm is in contact with the guide member, the operation state of the thrust device is held as it is. Autonomous unmanned submersible as described in. An altitude sonar capable of detecting altitude, which is the distance from the bottom of the water,
It has a depth sensor that can detect the depth that is the distance from the water surface,
The autonomous navigation control device calculates the total depth to the bottom of the underwater by combining the altitude detected by the altitude sonar and the depth detected by the depth sensor, and calculates the total depth and a preset target altitude. The autonomous unmanned submersible vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a difference is obtained as a target depth, and control is performed such that a deviation between the target depth and a depth detected by the depth sensor is reduced. . Detects self-location on virtual fixed coordinates by dead reckoning navigation,
Detecting relative distance and orientation of transponders placed underwater by acoustic positioning,
Calculating the position of the target transponder on the fixed coordinates by combining the relative distance and direction of the transponder detected by the acoustic positioning with the self-position on the fixed coordinates detected by dead reckoning. An underwater navigation method for autonomous unmanned submersibles. Dead reckoning device capable of calculating self-position on virtual fixed coordinates by calculating motion history;
An acoustic positioning device that can detect the relative distance and orientation of the transponder installed in the water by acoustic positioning;
A self-position on fixed coordinates calculated by the dead reckoning device, and a self-position on fixed coordinates calculated by matching the relative distance and direction detected by the acoustic positioning device to the transponder position on the fixed coordinates; And an autonomous navigation control device that corrects its own position on fixed coordinates.

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