Sample Run

The navigation system was originally designed for an unmanned underwater vehicle. The last subsystem on the right of the above figure, was replaced with a controller for a two-wheel pivot-steering vehicle, nothing else about the overall controller was changed. This is an example of one of the chief benefits of encapsulating control in the individual subsystems.

The diagram below is actual output from the simulation program. A launch-and-forget submersible vehicle slightly smaller than a compact car, could be imagined. Such a vehicle could be used for surveillance, counter-surveillance, or weapon delivery. Such a vehicle could be released in the deep waters off shore. It could autonomously navigate through unknown waters to a preprogrammed grid coordinate in the middle of a harbor. Once there, it could sit on the bottom and receive low frequency radio broadcasts, or, using a magnetometer, count ships entering and leaving the harbor. It could surface and detect high-frequency radio signals or take pictures. When finished, it could submerge and return or radio its data and self-destruct.