Automatic Underway AUV Recovery Using a USV

The future Norwegian naval mine countermeasure (NMCM) capability includes unmanned, autonomous vessels. The Royal Norwegian Navy uses the Hugin autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in mine hunting operations. To facilitate transportation and extension of Hugin’s operational range in NMCM operations, the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) is developing technology for automatic launch and recovery of AUVs using unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). This report describes the Stinger launch and recovery system (LARS) mounted onto the USV Frigg, a method for automatic recovery of the Hugin AUV using this system, and a system that can estimate relative position and velocity of the AUV using a lidar sensor mounted on the USV. Results from full-scale experiments are also presented.