This article describes the past accomplishments, present status, and future areas of concern for research at NPS in mission planning, mission execution, and post mission data analysis to meet the needs of future Naval Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. These vehicles are unmanned, untethered, free swimming, robotic submarines to be used for Naval missions including search, mapping, surveillance, and intervention activity. This project is joint between the Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering Departments at the Naval Postgraduate School and is focused on a long range program to develop control technology for these vehicles. The approach taken combines computer simulation, real time robust control theory, computer architecture and code development, vehicle and component design, sonar data analysis and data visualization. Started in 1987, the major thrusts are in the areas of mission planning, both off-line and on-line, mission execution including navigation, collision avoidance, replanning, object recognition, vehicle dynamic response and motion control, real time control software architecture and implementation, and the issues of post mission data analysis.Naval Postgraduate School Direct Funded Research Progra
