@inproceedings{721c6f5ad877477a8624fef94df7a53c,
title = "The relay chain: A scalable dynamic communication link between an exploratory underwater shoal and a surface vehicle",
abstract = "In this paper we present the Relay Chain: a new algorithm central to a novel strategy for exploring underwater environments using a swarm of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). The Relay Chain provides a mobile, scalable and dynamic communication link between the water's surface and a shoal of AUVs exploring the sea bed. The chain tracks the shoal as it explores, recruiting and returning AUVs from and to the shoal to modulate the length of the chain as required. The chain can instruct the shoal to reverse course when it travels too far from the starting point and there are no further AUVs to recruit. Given the challenging underwater environment, chain breakages are however inevitable, and as such we consider a number of recovery strategies to address chain breakages and minimise the time for which messages destined to the surface from the shoal are delayed. A simple 'turn and search' strategy is contrasted with strategies that depend on absolute positioning systems of varying accuracy. Implementing underwater absolute positioning systems is challenging, and our results highlight how accurate such a system must be to outperform more naive strategies, and hence be considered a worthwhile investment. We find the accuracy must be within 20cm, being 40% of AUV sensor range.",
author = "Becky Naylor and Mark Read and Jon Timmis and Andy Tyrrell",
note = "Funding Information: This work is supported by the EC funded CoCoRo Project, GA 270382. JT is also part funded by the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering. Funding Information: We thank Christoph M{\"o}eslinger and colleagues at the University of Graz for their contribution to CoCoRoSim. We also thank all other members of the CoCoRo Consortium. This work is supported by the EC funded CoCoRo Project, GA 270382. JT is also part funded by the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} Artificial Life 14 - Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems, ALIFE 2014. All rights reserved.; 14th International Conference on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems, ALIFE 2014 ; Conference date: 30-07-2014 Through 02-08-2014",
year = "2014",
language = "English",
series = "Artificial Life 14 - Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems, ALIFE 2014",
publisher = "MIT Press Journals",
pages = "290--297",
editor = "Hiroki Sayama and John Rieffel and Sebastian Risi and Rene Doursat and Hod Lipson",
booktitle = "Artificial Life 14 - Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems, ALIFE 2014",
address = "United States of America",
}