Navigation and Control of the Nereus Hybrid Underwater Vehicle for Global Ocean Science to 10,903 m Depth: Preliminary Results

L.L. Whitcomb, M.V. Jakuba, J.C. Kinsey, S.C. Martin, S.E. Webster, J.C. Howland, C.L. Taylor, D. Gomez-Ibanez, and D.R. Yoerger. Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. May 2010, Anchorage, AK.

This paper reports an overview of the navigation and control system design for the new Nereus hybrid underwater robotic vehicle (HROV). Vehicle performance during its first sea trials in November 2007 near Hawaii, and in May and June 2009 in the Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench is reported. During the latter expedition, the vehicle successfully performed scientific observation and sampling operations at depths exceeding 10,903 m. The Nereus underwater vehicle is designed to perform scientific survey and sampling to the full depth of the ocean - significantly deeper than the depth capability of all other present-day operational vehicles. For comparison, the second deepest underwater vehicle currently operational worldwide can dive to 7,000 m maximum depth. Nereus operates in two different modes. For broad-area survey, the vehicle can operate untethered as an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) capable of exploring and mapping the sea floor with sonars and cameras. Nereus can be converted at sea to become a tethered remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to enable close-up imaging and sampling. The ROV configuration incorporates a lightweight fiber-optic tether (for high-bandwidth, real-time video and data telemetry to the surface), an electro-hydraulic manipulator arm, and sampling instruments. The Nereus vehicle is designed to render all parts of the Earth's seafloor accessible to oceanographic science.