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. Effective state estimation for underwater robotics is a challenging problem that is actively being addressed in academic circles.