Dynamic robotic tracking of underwater targets using reinforcement learning.

To realize the potential of autonomous underwater robots that scale up our observational capacity in the ocean, new techniques are needed. Fleets of autonomous robots could be used to study complex marine systems and animals with either new imaging configurations or by tracking tagged animals to study their behavior. These activities can then inform and create new policies for community conservation.

Managed Surge Controller: A Docking Algorithm for a Non-Holonomic AUV (Sparus II) in the Presence of Ocean Currents for a Funnel-Shaped Docking Station.

This paper presents a novel algorithm to dock a non-holonomic Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) into a funnel-shaped Docking Station (DS), in the presence of ocean currents. In a previous work, the authors have compared several docking algorithms through Monte Carlo simulations. In this paper, a new control algorithm is presented with a goal to improve over the previous ones to fulfil the specific needs of the ATLANTIS project.

Mobile robotic platforms for the acoustic tracking of deep-sea demersal fishery resources.

Knowing the displacement capacity and mobility patterns of industrially exploited (i.e., fished) marine resources is key to establishing effective conservation management strategies in human-impacted marine ecosystems.

Two-Dimensional Frontier-Based Viewpoint Generation for Exploring and Mapping Underwater Environments.

To autonomously explore complex underwater environments, it is convenient to develop motion planning strategies that do not depend on prior information. In this publication, we present a robotic exploration algorithm for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that is able to guide the robot so that it explores an unknown 2-dimensional (2D) environment. The algorithm is built upon view planning (VP) and frontier-based (FB) strategies.

I-AUV Docking and Panel Intervention at Sea.

The use of commercially available autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) has increased during the last fifteen years. While they are mainly used for routine survey missions, there is a set of applications that nowadays can be only addressed by manned submersibles or work-class remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) equipped with teleoperated arms: the intervention applications. To allow these heavy vehicles controlled by human operators to perform intervention tasks, underwater structures like observatory facilities, subsea panels or oil-well Christmas trees have been adapted, making them more robust and easier to operate.