GLMPC: The Glider Monitoring, Piloting, and Communication System

The Office of Naval Research has sponsored a robust research and development program for autonomous underwater gliders. These vehicles use changes in volume and buoyancy to allow them to move up and down in the water column. They also have wings, which produce lift that provides for forward thrust (Davis et al., 2003). Several organizations have independently developed these gliders, along with the software needed to plan missions, communicate with the glider, and then visualize the data produced by them. The Navy has expressed an interest in a common system for the operational use of gliders that would be independent of the glider's manufacturer. This document outlines the requirements and capabilities of such a system.

The glider system, herein described GLMPC, is the control interface between users and autonomous underwater gliders. GLMPC allows users the capability to view a geographic area, overlay geographical information, and interact with the map. The system can take commands from the user, convert them according to the requirements of the specific glider, and transmit them to the appropriate glider. The glider transmits data to the system that is stored and visualized into views as determined by the user.