Comparison of Guidance Modes for the AUV “Slocum Glider ” in Time-Varying Ocean Flows

Abstract — This paper presents possibilities for the reliable guidance of an AUV “Slocum Glider ” in a time-varying oceans flows. The presented guidance modes consider the restricted information during a real mission about the actual position and ocean current conditions as well as the available control modes of a glider. A faster-than-real-time, full software stack simulator for the Slocum glider will be described in order to test the developed guidance modes under real mission conditions. Keywords—component; AUV “Slocum Glider”; Path Planning; Glider Simulator; Time-Varying Ocean Flows; Dead Reckonin