Bottom-following for remotely operated vehicles: algorithms and experiments

In this paper a framework composed of a hierarchical control architecture is proposed for accomplishing the task of bottom-following by using suitable guidance task functions. In particular, according to at-sea operational experience, the problem of managing dropouts due to erroneous tracking of multi-path echoes by the ROV altimeter(s) is addressed. Results of a large set of pool trials carried out with the Romeo ROV are reported and discussed.