Point localisation of a subsea cable using particle filters

Abstract

Point localisation of subsea cables are necessary as a starting point in the search of a particular section or whole length of a cable and become a demanding and challenging task in an uncertain environment such as sea. The authors propose a novel method of using particle filters for estimating the position of a subsea cable in a highly uncertain environment. The method was tested on data collected from a buried cable in the Baltic sea, Denmark and shown to have close approximation to the true location of the subsea cable. The method can be used to localise a subsea cable in an off-shore noisy and uncertain environment and provides an inexpensive alternative to the use of a diver or a remotely operated platform.