Karst Exploration With Robots: Fontaine de Nîmes Data Set

ABSTRACT

This communication presents a dataset collected in July 2023 using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) testbed deployed in the intricate and unstructured environment of the flooded karstic network at Fontaine de Nîmes . This study is part of the Robots for Karstic Exploration (RKE) project. The AUV, named Ulysse, is equipped with a suite of advanced sensors, including two mechanically scanned imaging sonars (MSIS) for mapping horizontal and vertical cave surfaces, a Doppler Velocity Log (DVL), an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), a depth sensor, and a forward‐looking echo‐sounder. The operational capabilities of Ulysse in ROV mode were first demonstrated in the Gourneyras cave. Subsequently, the sensor suite was adapted for use on a diver‐operated platform, named NavScoot 2, to acquire a broader dataset representing this highly complex and intricate environment. To facilitate usability, the dataset includes the original raw data in human‐readable text files, supplemented with basic MATLAB scripts for preliminary data fusion and analysis.