Microcomputer Software for the Unmanned Free Swimming Submersible

A microcomputer guidance and control system for the Unmanned Free Swimming Submersible (UFSS) has been designed, fabricated and tested. The UFSS is a laminar flow submersible developed to demonstrate long range, autonomous operation in open water. The operation of the vehicle is centered in the guidance/control computer. The central computer is aided by separate computers for navigation and acoustic telemetry. This paper will describe the software associated with the guidance/control computer. The major responsibilities of the guidance/control computer software are: (1) mission sequencing and guidance and (2) depth and heading control. These areas are subdivided into several functional blocks described herein. During shakedown tests in the summer of 1979, the guidance/control computer performed satisfactorily in all phases of the test runs.