{"ID":2843650,"CreatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.08822","arxiv_id":"2511.08822","title":"Low-cost Multi-agent Fleet for Acoustic Cooperative Localization Research","abstract":"Real-world underwater testing for multi-agent autonomy presents substantial financial and engineering challenges. In this work, we introduce the Configurable Underwater Group of Autonomous Robots (CoUGARs) as a low-cost, configurable autonomous-underwater-vehicle (AUV) platform for multi-agent autonomy research. The base design costs less than $3,000 USD (as of May 2025) and is based on commercially-available and 3D-printed parts, enabling quick customization for various sensor payloads and configurations. Our current expanded model is equipped with a doppler velocity log (DVL) and ultra-short-baseline (USBL) acoustic array/transducer to support research on acoustic-based cooperative localization. State estimation, navigation, and acoustic communications software has been developed and deployed using a containerized software stack and is tightly integrated with the HoloOcean simulator. The system was tested both in simulation and via in-situ field trials in Utah lakes and reservoirs.","short_abstract":"Real-world underwater testing for multi-agent autonomy presents substantial financial and engineering challenges. In this work, we introduce the Configurable Underwater Group of Autonomous Robots (CoUGARs) as a low-cost, configurable autonomous-underwater-vehicle (AUV) platform for multi-agent autonomy research. The ba...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.08822","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2511.08822v1","authors":"[\"Nelson Durrant\",\"Braden Meyers\",\"Matthew McMurray\",\"Clayton Smith\",\"Brighton Anderson\",\"Tristan Hodgins\",\"Kalliyan Velasco\",\"Joshua G. Mangelson\"]","published":"2025-11-11T22:37:37Z","proceeding":"cs.RO","tasks":"[\"cs.RO\",\"cs.MA\"]","methods":"[]","has_code":false}