Killick Sensors Overview
In order to complete its mission, Killick uses a wide array of sensors for vehicle control and environmental sensing, including a Dopper Velocty Log, two compasses, a depth sensor, two IMUs, and two cameras.
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The hydrophones are a passive acoustic system that uses four Reson TC4013 elements and an Analog Devices SHARC-21369 to determine the relative direction to an underwater pinger. They are capable of discriminating between multiple pingers of different frequencies operating simultaneously and listening to only the one at the selected frequency. They can operate in the 20-35 kHz range.
More information on Killick's hydrophones.
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Doppler Velocity Log
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The RDI Workhorse Navigator DVL gives position and enables closed-loop velocity control. The DVL provides velocity data in all three dimensions, and also features a built in temperature sensor, compass, and altitude sensor. |
Depth Sensor
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Analog pressure data (up to 100 PSI, or approximately 55 meters below the surface) is obtained from an MSI UltraStable-300 pressure transducer, operating in a 4-20 mA current loop. |
Cameras
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Killick uses three cameras, two forward facing and one downward facing. Two AVT Guppy F-080C Color CCD Cameras are used for the vehicle's forward vision. An An AVT Guppy F-046 Color CCD Camera is used for the vehicle's downward vision. |
Orientation Sensor
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A Microstrain 3DM-GX1 Orientation Sensor provides the vehicle's heading, pitch, roll and velocity rates in 3D space. This data is used in the Kalman filter of the controller to allow for better sensor fusion and faster control response |
Custom IMU
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The Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) measures the roll, pitch, and yaw velocities, as well as the x,y, and z acceleration. It also has an adjustable filter on the microcontroller to filter the data. The data is automatically updated and is sent to the computer using an RS-232 communication line. |
Sparton Compass
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A Sparton GEDC-6 Compass also provides the vehicle's heading, pitch, roll and velocity rates in 3D space. It also provides the vehicle's heading with magnetometers compensated by accelerometers and gyroscopes. |
