A software framework for multi-agent control of multiple autonomous underwater vehicles for underwater mine counter-measures

In this study, a novel robot control framework is presented for multiple autonomous underwater vehicles. In this framework, we incorporate sonar sensor data and integrated navigation system position data in a simulation environment, called UNBeatable-Sim, where complex control behaviors can be executed and analyzed. UNBeatable-Sim is developed by the COllaboration Based Robotics and Automation (COBRA) research group at the University of New Brunswick, Canada. Range and pose sensor data are accumulated in an ocean environment constructed using seabed data collected at Bedford Basin, Nova Scotia, Canada by DRDC Atlantic. A seabed map is generated from the real-world data using UNBeatable-Sim. The underwater vehicle and the seabed are simulated and visualized using OpenGL. An external controller implemented using Matlab and Simulink is used to control the robot model. Simulations of multiple underwater vehicles to navigate in the ocean environment to sense and map the seabed are performed using UNBeatable-Sim to assess the system architecture and controller performance.