Virtual DVL Reconstruction Method for an Integrated Navigation System Based on DS-LSSVM Algorithm

Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) mostly relies on an integrated navigation system, which consists of a strap-down inertial navigation system (SINS) and Doppler velocity log (DVL). The integrated system provides continuous and accurate navigation information when compared to stand-alone SINS or DVL. However, the dependence of DVL signals on the acoustic environment may cause any DVL malfunction due to marine organisms or strong wave-absorbing material. This article introduces a novel method utilizing Dempster–Shafer (DS) theory augmented by least squares support vector machines (LSSVMs) known as DS-LSSVM. The SINS and DVL data fusion are designed by DS theory whereas LSSVM models the SINS error. The virtual DVL is built by the proposed DS-LSSVM method, which makes AUV navigation purposes possible during the long-term DVL outage. The test results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed virtual DVL signal estimation method. In addition, the positioning accuracy of the proposed method outperforms that of the LSSVM method.