Just recently we have tested our new LBL Navigation System, or it’s prototype to be precise. The testing had taken place at Lenin Volga–Don Shipping Canal, the guaranteed depth of which equals to 3,75 m.
We determined the position of a stand-alone pinger, which can be secured on a robot or a diver later on, allowing real-time tracking of its location on the map and recording the track. As a pinger we used the world’s smallest hydroacoustic modem uWAVE with alternative firmware.
We set up four anchor points which received hydroacoustic navigational signal, we also synced with GPS and transmitted time of arrival and received packet over the air to the laptop. Each anchor point was very simple. It consisted of a plastic box (future hydroacoustic buoy), with a radio module with antenna, GPS module, dc-dc converter inside, all of which was powered by a standard lead-acid battery. And a navigational reviewer, of course, that contained all the operating logic.
The system worked perfectly! The video shows how we positioned our anchor points and what data we have received. For the sake of experiment we also tried to place the pinger beyond anchor points to see how the whole system would work in such conditions. The data we obtained can also be seen in the video:
