Simultaneous mapping and planning for autonomous underwater vehicles in unknown environments

New potential applications of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) involve operations in unknown and cluttered environments, therefore increasing the vehicle exposure to collisions. To cope with these situations, we use an AUV framework for planning collision-free paths in unknown environments, which adapt and replan the paths according to nearby obstacles perceived during the mission execution using different range sensing sonar. We present simulation and real-world results for the SPARUS-II AUV, a torpedo-shaped vehicle, performing autonomous missions.