Object Avoidance for Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs)

Daniel H. Wagner Associates, Inc. will develop an Object Avoidance for Unmanned Surface Vehicles (OAUSV) system that processes all available data, dynamically generates a Tactical Picture, an optimal route, and an object avoidance plan, and provides this information to the Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) control system and its operators. A key capability provided by OAUSV will be the ability to fuse data obtained by off-board systems (e.g., other ship's/aircraft/UVs' organic systems, Route Surveys, MCM systems) with own-USV data in real-time. In addition, we will utilize the contact data fusion and environmental data fusion algorithms developed in our Commander's Estimate of the Situation Tactical Decision Aid (CESTDA) and Current, Wind, and Wave Data Fusion (CWWDF) projects for ONR to determine a recommended route for the USV that minimizes ship vulnerability. As shown in our Cooperative Organic Mine Defense (COMID) work, the ability to utilize non-own-USV data will significantly improves the ability of the USV to maneuver around potentially threatening objects and dramatically reduces the number of false alarms. The primary algorithmic techniques that will be utilized in OAUSV are non-Gaussian and multiple hypothesis data registration and fusion, non-Gaussian optimization, and Bayesian inferential reasoning.