1 December 2013

Discrete event simulation of hydrographic launch and recovery operations (presentation)

Abstract: Australia’s national hydrographic survey and charting programme (hydroscheme) is carried out by the Australian Hydrographic Service of the Royal Australian Navy. Hydrographic survey involves using sonar to measure the depth of the sea floor and for feature detection. For the most part, this is carried out through the use of organic systems such as hull-mounted sonar but emerging technology will allow more surveys to be carried out by off-board unmanned vehicles (UV). This new technological paradigm raises a number of questions:

What is the maximum number of UVs that a single vessel can operate effectively in tandem?
In the case that the deploying vessel also has organic sensors, what is the effect of transiting between survey areas on the overall rate of effort?
What effect do UV parameters such as endurance, deployment and recovery times have on the overall rate of effort?

In this study we investigate these UV operational issues using discrete event simulation and explore options available to Navy for the execution of the hydroscheme in the future.

(Based on work with Justin D. Beck, title and abstract approved for public release, 20th International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand, December 2013, pg. 236. ISBN 978-0-9872143-2-4, programme)