A framework for marine sensor network & autonomous vehicle interaction

We wish to exploit the complementary characteristics of marine sensor networks and autonomous vehicles through interaction and cooperation to achieve tasks that neither can accomplish alone - large-scale, long duration perception of the environment and response to changes in that environment. We outline and experimentally evaluate a new programming and communications framework that supports the integration of autonomous surface and underwater vehicles and sensor networks. The proposed programming framework is RPC-based and allows robots and static sensors to consider each other as service providers and consumers. The framework allows service forwarding in which services that cannot be provided by one fixed or mobile node are forwarded to another over a local communications link. This allows the functionality of the system to be extended in a way that is transparent to the sensor network.