Correcting Localization Error with a Single Beacon for AUV

The localization error of an AUV′s integrated navigation positioning system, which is composed of strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS), Doppler velocity logger (DVL) and depth sensor, increases with time, and the hidden performance of the AUV will decrease in correcting the error via GPS. In this paper, a new method is proposed to correct the localization error of the AUV’s navigation system by adopting a fixed beacon under water. In this method, the principle of acoustic ranging is used to measure the distance between AUV and beacon, then the real-time position of the AUV is calculated according to spacial geometric relationships, and the localization error of the AUV′s navigation system is corrected by Kalman filter. Simulation results show that the present approach can correct AUV′s localization error effectively, which infers an application value in engineering.