A Preliminary Study of Forward-Looking Sonar Based Path Planning for Remotely Operated Vehicles
Yu-Cheng Chou, Wei-Shan Chang, Hsin‐Hung Chen, Chau‐Chang Wang · 2025
Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) are broadly categorized into remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), each offering unique advantages. These vehicles are widely used in scientific research, engineering, civilian applications, and national defense. Underwater missions often encounter diverse environmental conditions and objectives, with UUVs equipped with distinct instrument configurations and motion characteristics. Consequently, path planning becomes a critical factor directly tied to mission requirements, significantly influencing UUV performance. Evaluating whether a planned path meets mission demands or selecting the most suitable path from multiple options is vital for enhancing the success rate of UUV operations. This paper focuses on using an ROV equipped with a multi-beam forward-looking sonar to conduct a comprehensive scan of a designated three-dimensional (3D) water area within a limited timeframe. To achieve this, multiple path planning methods were developed to ensure complete scanning coverage of cylindrical water volumes. These methods leverage the sonar's measurement range, horizontal beam width, vertical beam width, and the defined water area. Each path planning output consists of planar scanning paths at varying depths. By calculating the total scanning path length and diving depth, combined with the ROV speed specifications, the total time required to complete the scanning mission is estimated.