A USBL Position-assisted Information Calibration Method for DVL Measurement Error in Deep Water Environment

Abstract

The primary problem with the SINS/DVL underwater integrated navigation system is to calibrate the installation relationship between SINS and DVL. The traditionally used method is GNSS velocity-assisted calibration. However, when it comes to a deep water environment, there is no GNSS signal, thus there is no effective external speed reference information underwater. Aiming at solving the problem, this paper proposes a USBL position-assisted DVL calibration method, taking advantage of position reference information provided by USBL underwater. The new method was deduced from GNSS velocity-assisted calibration method by integral operation. A sea trial experiment data was processed to validate the feasibility of the method. The results showed that the positioning error of SINS/DVL underwater integrated navigation after calibration by this method is reduced by nearly 50%. It can be concluded that this DVL calibration method can significantly improve the navigation and positioning accuracy of SINS/DVL underwater integrated navigation system in deep water.