Prosjektet bygger videre på forskningen fra det tidligere NFR-finansierte prosjektet "Autonomous Underwater Fleets", men går et viktig steg videre: maalet er aa utvikle metoder som gjoer det mulig for autonome undervannsfarkoster (AUV-er) og autonome overflatefartoyer (ASV-er) aa samarbeide mer robust og effektivt i krevende maritime operasjoner.
Et av de mest kritiske bruksomraadene er sjoemaalsmine mottiltak (NMCM). Slike operasjoner innebcerer betydelig risiko for personell dersom de utfoeres manuelt. Ved aa utvikle autonome og samarbeidende robotfartoyer kan man redusere denne risikoen dramatisk, samtidig som kvaliteten og effektiviteten i operasjonene oker.
I prosjektet har vi utviklet nye styrings- og samarbeidsmetoder som gjoer autonome fartoyer i stand til aa:
- arbeide sammen selv med begrenset og forsinket kommunikasjon, slik som ved bruk av akustiske modemer under vann,
- dele oppgaver og holde formasjon paa en trygg og energieffektiv maate,
- trekke og kontrollere slepede sensorer eller nyttelaster paa en stabil og presis maate, noe som er svært relevant for minesveiping,
- tilpasse seg usikre forhold, for eksempel ukjente havstroemmer eller forstyrrelser fra miljoet.
Et viktig resultat i prosjektperioden er utviklingen av robuste metoder for formasjon og koordinert bevegelse, ogsaa naar kommunikasjon er forsinket eller pakkene faller ut - et kjent problem i undervannsomraader. Prosjektet har ogsaa utviklet nye kontrollmetoder for slepede systemer, der et overflatefartoy trekker en sensorenhet. Dette er direkte relevant for nye konsepter innen autonom minesveiping.
Arbeidet har vært tett koblet til Forsvarets forskningsinstitutt (FFI), baade gjennom felles faglige vurderinger og gjennom testing og evaluering av realistiske slepekonfigurasjoner. Samarbeidet har gitt unik innsikt i operative behov og muliggjort utvikling av loesninger som er praktisk anvendbare i forsvarssektoren.
Gjennom en kombinasjon av avansert teori, simuleringer og eksperimentelle tester har prosjektet bidratt til ny kunnskap om autonom samarbeidskontroll for heterogene marine flaater. Resultatene legger grunnlaget for tryggere, mer effektive og mer autonome NMCM-operasjoner i fremtiden.
The project has delivered new cooperation and control algorithms that can make naval mine countermeasure (NMCM) operations both safer and more efficient. Through the development of methods for robust multi-agent coordination, formation control, and towing-based sensing, the project has produced concrete building blocks for future autonomous NMCM systems.
A key scientific outcome is a set of distributed control algorithms that allow heterogeneous fleets of AUVs and ASVs to cooperate even when communication is limited, delayed, or unreliable, as is typical for acoustic links underwater. These algorithms enable shared decision-making, coordinated path following, and safe formation keeping, allowing multiple vehicles to work together as a unified team rather than as independent units.
The project has also generated new control strategies for towing and manipulating unactuated payloads, which is directly relevant for autonomous minesweeping. These results show how an autonomous surface vessel can stably tow a sensor package, compensate for ocean currents, and follow a planned path with high precision. This provides a technological basis for replacing dangerous manned minesweeping operations with autonomous solutions.
The project has strengthened the strategic collaboration between NTNU and FFI, particularly in embodied artificial intelligence, cooperative marine robotics, and autonomous maritime defence systems. Through joint discussions, model analysis, and evaluation of realistic towing configurations, the project has ensured that the developed methods address actual operational needs.
Overall, the outcomes of the project contribute to increased safety, reduced operational risk, and improved effectiveness in NMCM operations. The scientific advances also offer broader impact for autonomous marine operations in search and rescue, environmental monitoring, offshore inspection, and other domains where robust cooperation between multiple autonomous vessels is required.
The ongoing 'Autonomous Underwater Fleets' project, funded by the Norwegian Research Council, has been dealing with the generic problem of improving the capabilities of homogeneous autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in cooperating. More specifically, it has been focusing on making such cooperation schemes take into account dynamically how much the AUVs will be able to communicate while performing their mission.
This project will be here extended in two ways: a) the research results will be generalized to heterogeneous networks, i.e., consider heterogeneous networks composed by different types of AUVs and of autonomous surface vessels (ASVs) working together, plus b) focus on results that specifically address the needs of the defence sector. More precisely, the research will focus on the particular problem of executing naval mine counter measurement (NMCM) operations autonomously. Diminishing the risks of human injuries while performing NMCM tasks is a main challenge of the defence sector. This means that the research will revolve around two challenges: making NMCM autonomous (and thus autonomous detection, mapping, capture and/or detonation of mines), plus exploiting the benefits that may come from the heterogeneity in the capabilities of the vehicles in performing such detection, mapping, capture and/or detonation of mines. Importantly, such operations are envisioned to be performed by fleets of collaborating vehicles. This adds thus the complexifying factor of having to tasks allocation and partitioning problems (respectively, who does what and who goes where) in a distributed, autonomous fashion.
Closely integrated with the development of theories and algorithms we will also test, validate and demonstrate the potential of the devised cooperation algorithms in the Trondheim fjord using the various vessels and demoing capabilities available at NTNU, as well as at FFI in Horten.
