Underwater Positioning System

1.0 Principle of LBL

➢Long Baseline (LBL) underwater positioning is a

range-range positioning system that utilizes beacons at
fixed locations on the sea bottom.

➢By measuring distances to at least three beacons a

position can be calculated. LBL applications are
construction activities where high accuracy and
repeatability are required.

➢An LBL system has two parts or segments.

 Underwater Positioning System
1.0 Principle of LBL
➢The first segment comprises a number of acoustic Transponder
Beacons moored in fixed locations on the seabed.

➢The positions of the Beacons are described in a coordinate frame

fixed to the seabed.

➢The distances between them form the "baselines" used by the

system.

➢Figure:
Compatt (Computing and Telemetring Transponder) as
employed by Sonardyne
Underwater Positioning System
1.0 Principle of LBL
 Underwater Positioning System
1.0 Principle of LBL
➢The second segment comprises an acoustic
transducer on a Transceiver that is normally installed on
the vessel or on a subsea vehicle such as ROV along
with a remote transducer.

➢The distance from the transducer to a Transponder

Beacon can be measured by causing the transducer to
transmit a short acoustic signal which the Transponder
detects and causes it to transmit an acoustic signal in
response.

➢The time from the transmission of the first signal to the

reception of the second is measured.
 Underwater Positioning System
1.0 Principle of LBL

➢As sound travels through the water at a known

speed, the distance between the transducer
and the Beacon can be estimated.

➢The process is repeated for the remaining

Beacons and the position of the vessel relative
to the array of Beacons is then calculated or
estimated.
Underwater Positioning System
1.0 Principle of LBL
 Underwater Positioning System
2.0 Principle of SBL
➢An SBL system is normally fitted to a vessel such as a
barge, semi-submersible or a large drilling vessel.

➢A number of (at least three but typically four) acoustic

transducers are fitted in a triangle or a rectangle on the
lower part of the vessel.

➢The distances between the transducers (the

"baselines") are made as large as is practical; typically
they are at least 10 metres long.

➢The position of each transducer within a co-ordinate

frame fixed to the vessel is determined by conventional
survey techniques or from the "as built" survey of the
vessel.
Underwater Positioning System
2.0 Principle of SBL
 Underwater Positioning System
2.0 Principle of SBL

➢The term "Short" is used as a comparison with "Long-

Base-Line" techniques where the transponders are
deployed on the seabed at distances of several hundred
meters.
➢If three distances from the transducers to an acoustic
Beacon are measured, then the position of the Beacon,
within the vessel co-ordinate frame, can be computed.
➢Moreover, if redundant measurements are made using
additional transponders, a best estimate can be
determined which is, statistically, more accurate than
the three transponder position calculation.
 Underwater Positioning System
2.0 Principle of SBL
➢SBL systems transmit from one but receive on all
transducers. The result is one distance (or range)
measurement and a number of range (or time)
differences.
➢With an SBL system, the co-ordinate frame is fixed to
the vessel - which is subject to roll (change in list), pitch
(change in trim) and yaw (change in heading) motion.
➢This "disadvantage" can be overcome by using
additional equipment such as a VRU (Vertical
Reference Unit) to measure roll and pitch and a
Gyrocompass to measure heading.
➢The coordinates of the Beacon can then be
transformed mathematically to remove the effect of
these rotational motions.
 Underwater Positioning System
2.0 Principle of SBL
➢If the requirement is to estimate the position of the
vessel in some frame such as one fixed to the seabed,
then at least one Beacon should be placed in a fixed
position on the seabed and used as a reference point. It
is this principle that is used for "DP" vessels.

➢Most short baseline systems have been replaced by

Ultra Short Baselines nowadays, which combines the
three transponders into a single unit, thus having the
advantage of a simpler installation without the need to
measure all the individual transponder positions.
 Underwater Positioning System
3.0 Principle of USBL

➢Ultra Short Baseline (USBL) principles are

very similar to SBL principles (in which an array
of acoustic transducers is deployed on the
surface vessel) except that the transducers are
all built into a single transceiver assembly - or
the array of transducers is replaced by an array
of transducer elements in a single transceiver
(hydrophone) assembly.
 Underwater Positioning System
3.0 Principle of USBL
➢Figure: Build-up of USBL transducer with
receive and transmit elements

Receiver
 Underwater Positioning System
3.0 Principle of USBL

➢The distances or ranges are measured as they are in

an SBL system but the time differences are now much
less.

➢Systems using sinusoidal signals measure the "time-

phase" of the signal in each element with respect to a
reference in the receiver.

➢The "time-phase differences" between transducer

elements are computed by subtraction and then the
system is equivalent to an SBL system.
 Underwater Positioning System
3.0 Principle of USBL

➢An interrogation pulse is transmitted from the vessel,

reference transducer to the sub-sea transponder and
sends a reply pulse back to the transducer.

➢If a gyro compass and surface navigation system is

interfaced to the system, the north reference and
absolute position of the transponder can be calculated.

➢Some USBL systems have sophisticated beam

steering techniques to reduce the interference of ship-
borne noise.
 Underwater Positioning System
3.0 Principle of USBL

➢Normally transducers are installed as hull units,

allowing the transducer to be lowered sufficiently below
the keel of the vessel, away from aerated water.

➢The choice of transducers should be different on

application and performance depending on project
requirements.

➢The various options are: standard fixed, narrow fixed,

narrow beam tracking or tracking transducers.
 Underwater Positioning System
3.0 Principle of USBL
➢USBL is primarily used for target (e.g. ROV) tracking
and DP input but can also be used in relative mode.

➢The system is once calibrated very fast with a

reasonable repeatability.

➢Asthe system obtains its data from range and bearing

measurements it is susceptible to ray bending.

➢Inaddition the obtainable accuracies are slant range

dependent and vary from a few decimetres to several
meters.
 Underwater Positioning System
3.0 Principle of USBL

➢The system can be used as a stand-alone

navigation system, or it can be integrated with
surface navigation systems to establish
absolute positioning.

➢The maximum range of the system is in the

order of 1500 – 3000 meters, depending on the
transponder used and the desired accuracy of
the measurement.
Underwater Positioning System
3.0 Principle of USBL
Underwater Positioning System
3.0 Principle of USBL
ROV USBL
Tracking
 A Sonardyne Fusion
System
Data Fusion
Engine GPS
Touch Screen
Monitor
Navigation
Controller
Navigation
INS
Computer
VRU
Heading
Vessel

Gyro

MUX
Compatt 5-v2

Compatt 4- Compatt 5-v1

Digital v8
USBL
DVL Transceiver
s
 Sonardyne USBL Beacons

Mini Beacon
Super Mini
Beacon

Mini Beacon
with
Flotation
Compatt
Intelligent Releasable
transponders
USBL Responder Operation

The responder is interrogated by an electrical pulse

via the umbilical and replies acoustically