Accurate positioning of remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) in confined environments is crucial for inspection and mapping tasks and is also a prerequisite for autonomous operations. Presently, there are no positioning systems available that are suited for real-world use in confined underwater environments, unconstrained by environmental lighting and water turbidity levels and have sufficient accuracy for long-term, reliable and repeatable navigation. This shortage presents a significant barrier to enhancing the capabilities of ROVs in such scenarios. This paper introduces an innovative positioning system for ROVs operating in confined, cluttered underwater settings, achieved through the collaboration of an omnidirectional surface vehicle and an ROV. A formulation is proposed and evaluated in the simulation against ground truth. The experimental results from the simulation form a proof of principle of the proposed system and also demonstrate its deployability. Unlike many previous approaches, the system does not rely on fixed infrastructure or tracking of features in the environment and can cover large enclosed areas without additional equipment.

翻译：在受限环境中对遥控水下机器人（ROV）进行精确定位，对于巡检和测绘任务至关重要，也是实现自主作业的前提条件。目前，尚无适用于受限水下环境实际应用的定位系统，这些系统需不受环境光照和水体浊度限制，并具备足够精度以实现长期、可靠且可重复的导航。这一不足严重阻碍了ROV在此类场景中能力的提升。本文提出一种创新定位系统，通过全向水面航行器与ROV的协同合作，实现ROV在受限、杂乱水下环境中的定位。我们提出了一种定位方案，并在仿真中将其与真实值进行对比评估。仿真实验结果验证了该系统的原理可行性，并展示了其可部署性。与以往许多方法不同，该系统不依赖固定基础设施或环境特征跟踪，且无需额外设备即可覆盖大型封闭区域。