VR teleoperation to support a GPS-free positioning system in a marine environment

Small autonomous surface vehicles (ASV) will need both teleoperation support and redundant positioning technology to comply with expected future regulations. When at sea, they are limited by a satellite communication link with low throughput. We have designed and implemented a graphical user interface (GUI) for teleoperation using a communication link with low throughput, and one positioning system, independent of the Global Positioning System (GPS), supported by the teleoperation tool. We conducted a user study (N=16), using real-world data from a field trial, to validate our approach, and to compare two variants of the graphical user interface (GUI). The users experienced that the tool gives a good overview, and despite the connection with the low throughput, they managed through the GUI to significantly improve the positioning accuracy.