So – I’m thinking GPS or radio can’t work through water; gyroscopic reference might but you have ocean currents and it can’t be too precise; sonar mapping would seem to require a lot of processing and a previously mapped ocean floor. Plus the Z coordinate complicates typical X-Y map navigation.
Also, is the drones exploration path programmed and run without communication to the surface?
In: Engineering
They use a bouy with gps/radio above the water, and a sonic based communication/location system under the water https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Underwater-wireless-sensor-network-deployment-with-a-surface-buoy-used-as-the-gateway_fig1_328580525
water is really good at blocking radio (especialy at the surface) but really good at transmitting sound. since they are both waves, you can do more or less the same things with each.
On board inertial/gyro sensors still work fine underwater, as do compases, so your IMU works fine. Plus, now you have preasure to estimate depth
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