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Ethernet ROV Locator
Ethernet ROV Locator
  • ROV Locator
  • Overview
  • General Specifications
  • Quick Start for BlueROV
  • Fundamentals Useful to System Designers
    • Sound Reflection and Absorption
    • Multipath
    • Ping Length
    • What to Do About Multipath and Other Issues
    • Clock Drift Expectations
    • Accuracy Expectations
      • Accuracy Test: Topside GPS
      • Accuracy Test: 110 Meter Slant Range
      • Accuracy Test: 295 Meter Slant Range
    • Operation in a Pool
  • Configuring the ROVLe
    • Finding the Configuration Web Page
    • Example Configuration Web Page
    • Live Status Page
    • Setting Device Type
    • Setting the Static IP Address
    • Setting the Fallback IP Address
    • Setting the MAVLink REST Server Parameters
    • Setting the Secondary (GNSS) MAVLink Interface
    • GPS/GNSS Forwarding (Re-tweeting)
    • Magnetic Declination
    • CIMU Calibration Offsets
    • Speed of Sound
    • GNSS Antenna Mounting Rotation
    • Output Messages
    • Configure Simulation
  • System Variants
  • Autosync
    • Autosync Mission Scenarios and Mission Suitability
    • Autosync Availability
    • Autosync GPS/GNSS Output
    • ROVL Channels (Autosync only; Operating Multiple Units in Proximity)
  • Communicating With the ROVL
    • Serial Parameters
    • The Ethernet Interface
      • Tips on How to Find the IP Address Assigned to Your Ethernet Adapter
      • Blue Robotics Discovery Protocol (Ethernet Only)
    • Packet Format
    • Messages from ROVL to Host
      • $USRTH Receiver-Transmitter Relative Angles Message
      • $USTLC Target Location Message
      • $USINF/$USTXT Information Message
      • $USERR Error Message
      • $USNVM Non-Volatile Memory Message
    • Messages from Host to ROVL
      • NMEA-Format Messages to Receiver
      • Valid Commands from Host to ROVL, Serial and Ethernet
      • Valid Commands from Host to ROVL, Ethernet Only
        • Command: DHCP
        • Command: FALLBACK-ADDRESS
        • Command: IP-ADDRESS
        • Command: HOST-ADDRESS
        • Command: MAVLINK-ADDRESS
        • Command: MAVLINK-AUTO-ORIGIN
        • Command: MAVLINK-SYSID
        • Command: PAUSE
        • Command: RESUME
        • Command: RETWEET-GPS
        • Command: RETWEET-GPS-ADDRESS
        • Command: RETWEET-message
        • Command: SEND-ROV-POS-TO-MAP
        • Command: SEND-TOPSIDE-TO-MAP
        • Command: SEND-USRTH
        • Command: SEND-USTLC
        • Command: UNICAST-TO-ME
  • Cerulean Inertial Measurement Unit (CIMU)
    • CIMU Calibration Background
      • CIMU Magnetometer Calibration
      • CIMU Accelerometer Calibration
      • CIMU Gyro Calibration
  • Operating and Accuracy Considerations
  • Multi-Unit Operation (Swarms)
    • Multi-Unit 1:1
    • Multi-Unit 1:2
    • Multi-Unit 2x1:1
  • ROVL Mounting
    • ROV/Deepside Mounting
    • Topside Mounting
    • Simple Topside Deployment Fixture
  • ROVL Wiring
    • Standard Cabling Options
    • ROVL-e PC Board Internal Connections
      • JST-GH Connector Pin 1 Identification
      • Ethernet/Power Connections
      • Serial Connection
      • USB Connection
      • GNSS Compass Main (4-pin) RS-232 Connection
      • GNSS Compass RTK (2-pin) RS-422 Connection
    • Electrical Noise
  • Connecting and Powering Your ROVLe Ethernet Receiver or Transceiver
    • Example Power Injectors
    • Data Connection
    • Example Power/Wi-Fi Setup for Remote Usage
    • Battery
  • Mounting Dimensions
    • Mk II Receiver with Omnitrack Top
    • Transmitter/Transceiver/Receiver with Standard Top
    • Mk III Transcceiver
    • ROVLe Omnitrack Top
    • ROVLe Standard Top
    • Example Mounting Scheme with 3D-Printed Bracket
  • ROVL Coordinate Systems and Angles
    • Definitions
    • NED or "Compass" vs. ENU or "Math" Angles
    • Math to Compass Frame Conversions
    • Transducer Down Orientation
    • Transducer Up Orientation
    • Receiver/Transceiver Orientation Frames
    • Best Operating Envelope
  • Appendix: Math for Computing Remote Latitude/Longitude
    • Receiver & GPS at Topside and Transmitter Deepside
    • Transmitter & GPS Topside and Receiver Deepside
  • Appendix: Factory Usage Command Set
  • Troubleshooting
    • How to Tell if Your Mk II Receiver is Working
    • How to tell if your Mk II Transmitter is working
    • What to do when you find an unresolvable problem when troubleshooting
  • Copyright
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  1. Fundamentals Useful to System Designers

What to Do About Multipath and Other Issues

Some potential issues and solutions

PreviousPing LengthNextClock Drift Expectations

Last updated 1 month ago

If you read the previous pages in this section, it should be clear that acoustic propagation is complicated. If someone tells you they can precisely predict the performance of a sonar system in water, you should be skeptical. This page will tell you some things to look out for and to try, but the only real way to understand what kind of results you can get is by putting systems in the water and trying them out.

One important item is not strictly a multipath issue. For the same reasons you want to put radio antennas as high as is practical (i.e., better line of sight and fewer ground losses), you should do your best to use ROVL systems when they are as far distant as is practical from the surface of the water or the floor of your body of water. This is especially relevant to the topside unit which is often the receiver or transceiver. You want to operate topside units when they are at least a meter under water, and two or more meters underwater is better.

Operating in man-made pools is usually problematic. Pools often have nicely specular sides and bottoms. Usually the sides are parallel to one another, and the bottom is often parallel (or nearly parallel) to the water's surface. Sonar pings reverberate like crazy in a pool. In our testing we have seen pool pings reverberate for up to 30mS. Reverberation is not the main problem with pools (but the long reverberation time betrays the highly reflective quality of the pool enclosure) -- the difficulty lies in getting the system components at least one ping length away from walls and floors.

It's easy to drop a receiver over the side of a boat when operating the system. Be sure to drop the receiver far enough to clear the boat hull by a ping length or more, or you may see errors in position estimates. Dropping off the side of a wharf may lead to similar issues, in which case the receiver should be positioned away from the wharf by a ping length or more. Think about the operating geometry and the Pythagorean Theorem, as in the figure below. [Note, when using a GNSS compass, you also need to account for absorption, reflection, obstruction and multipath of the GPS/GNSS signals.

Submerged vegetation is difficult to penetrate with sonar. We have found that 3 meters of Eurasian milfoil can completely absorb a signal that can otherwise be easily heard 300 meters away. There's no good solution to problematic vegetation.

Stretches of shallow water (e.g., 1-2 meters deep) between the transmitter and receiver may cause the sonar signal to deform, making it seem like the signal is coming from the wrong direction. Underwater ridges that reach up near the surface can cause sonar system to diffract and dissipate as the sound flows over the ridge.

Flow noise may also be a problem with AUV/ROV-mounted Receivers, Transceivers, or Mk III Transponders. If there is turbulence around the transducer housing or AUV/ROV components, or if the thrusters are very loud, the ping signal may be washed out. A symptom of this is the ROVL working fine when the vehicle is stationary, but becomes more erratic as the vehicle speed increases. Note that this may also be a sign of electrical leakage from the thrusters as is described . Note also that flow noise and electrical noise is rarely an issue with Mk II Transmitters mounted on the AUV/ROV.

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The receiver can be a just over a half-ping length away from a reflector (blue line). When the ROV is in position 1, the yellow reflected path (b) is more than a ping length longer than the direct green path (a). When the ROV is in position 2, the red reflected path (d) may be substantially less than one ping length longer than the green direct path (c), in which case there is a potential for interference. Also try to think about the same issue in all dimensions (i.e., transmitter and receiver operating next to a flat, reflective sea floor).