Synchronous rendezvous technique for multi-vehicle mine countermeasure operations

Advantages of multi-vehicle network over single autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) platform include extended coverage area, potential cost and time efficiency, and more robust performance. A common issue that slows advancement in the field is the limited available communication between the platforms. The approach we propose is based on assigning a sequence of rendezvous points (RPs) where the vehicles can meet and exchange information. The work we present in this paper applies mainly to mine countermeasure (MCM) and suggests that despite the disadvantage of time to allow for the vehicles to reach the RPs, there are techniques that can minimise the losses and provide advantages such as easier coordination and access point for operator monitoring and system modifications.