FPGA-Based High-Precision Underwater Docking via Sound Guidance

For the underwater docking system of an unmanned undersea vehicle(UUV), the sound guidance technology has large operating distance but low precision, while the light guidance technology has high precision but short operating distance. In this paper, a high-precision underwater docking method via sound guidance based on the field programmable gate array(FPGA) is proposed, which precisely guide UUV via the sound guidance from a comparatively long distance to the operating range of the light guidance. Simulation and pool test show that this method can provide reliable guidance data with required accuracy. This study may facilitate the design of underwater docking systems.