Docking and Persistent Operations for a Resident Underwater Vehicle

Abstract

Our understanding of the oceans remains limited by sparse and infrequent observations, primarily because current methods are constrained by the high cost and logistical effort of underwater monitoring, relying either on sporadic surveys across broad areas or on long-term measurements at fixed locations. To overcome these limitations, monitoring systems must enable persistent and autonomous operations without the need for continuous surface support. Despite recent advances, resident underwater vehicles remain uncommon due to persistent challenges in autonomy, robotic resilience, and mechanical robustness, particularly under long-term deployment in harsh and remote environments. This work addresses these problems by presenting the development, deployment, and operation of a resident infrastructure using a docking station with a mini-class Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) at 90m depth. The ROVis equipped with enhanced onboard processing and perception, allowing it to autonomously navigate using USBL signals, dock via ArUco marker-based visual localisation fused through an Extended Kalman Filter, and carry out local inspection routines. The system demonstrated a 90% autonomous docking success rate and completed full inspection missions within four minutes, validating the integration of acoustic and visual navigation in real-world conditions. These results show that reliable, untethered operations at depth are feasible, highlighting the potential of resident ROV systems for scalable, cost-effective underwater monitoring.

Figures (13)

• Figure 1: Autonomous homing, docking and inspection workflow of the ROV. 1) The ROV initiates homing using acoustic positioning via USBL. 2) Upon visual contact, it transitions to camera-based navigation using ArUco markers or manual navigation and data exchange through the optical modem. 3) The ROV docks into the station, aligning with an inductive charger to charge and establish communication. 4) After recharging or data transfer, it undocks and proceeds with the inspection mission.
• Figure 2: R/V Gunnerus and the working-class ROV Minerva II during the deployment operation. The inset highlights Minerva II equipped with manipulators used to position and adjust the station underwater.
• Figure 3: Network layout of the sensors connected to the Blueye X3 ROV.
• Figure 4: Docking station aboard R/V Gunnerus prior to deployment. The ROV is secured in the main compartment, with a 20 m tether below and an 80 m reserve tether on the right. The USBL and optical modem are mounted on the right column.
• Figure 5: The final docking station design viewed from the front as a Blender rendering, courtesy of moslatt2024guidance.