A Two-Stage Vision-Guided Autonomous Docking Method for Underwater Unmanned Vehicles: Integrating Long-Range Optical Beacon Guidance with Close-Range AprilTag-Based Pose Estimation

Jingyu Wang; Yong Zhu; Yifan Zhao; Qi Ling; Zhiyuan Pang; Bo Huang

doi:10.1109/ICCA69928.2026.11618284

A Two-Stage Vision-Guided Autonomous Docking Method for Underwater Unmanned Vehicles: Integrating Long-Range Optical Beacon Guidance with Close-Range AprilTag-Based Pose Estimation

Jingyu Wang
, Yong Zhu
, Yifan Zhao
, Qi Ling
, Zhiyuan Pang^*
, Bo Huang

^*Corresponding author for this work

Harbin Institute of Technology Weihai

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

Abstract

This paper presents a two-stage vision-guided autonomous docking method for UUV docking in underwater environments. A green optical beacon is used for long-range guidance, while an AprilTag marker is adopted for close-range relative pose estimation and fine attitude adjustment. Combined with a self-attention mechanism and finite-state machine-based control, the proposed method improves docking robustness and precision under varying water-clarity conditions. The method provides a practical solution for reliable underwater autonomous docking.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	2026 IEEE 20th International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA 2026
Publisher	IEEE Computer Society
Pages	1224-1229
Number of pages	6
ISBN (Electronic)	9798331548537
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCA69928.2026.11618284
State	Published - 2026
Externally published	Yes
Event	20th IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA 2026 - Almaty, Kazakhstan Duration: 16 Jun 2026 → 19 Jun 2026

Publication series

Name	IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA
ISSN (Print)	1948-3449
ISSN (Electronic)	1948-3457

Conference

Conference	20th IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA 2026
Country/Territory	Kazakhstan
City	Almaty
Period	16/06/26 → 19/06/26

Keywords

AprilTag pose estimation
finite-state machine control
global self-attention
optical beacon detection
UUV autonomous docking
vision-guided docking

Access to Document

10.1109/ICCA69928.2026.11618284

Cite this

Wang, J., Zhu, Y., Zhao, Y., Ling, Q., Pang, Z., & Huang, B. (2026). A Two-Stage Vision-Guided Autonomous Docking Method for Underwater Unmanned Vehicles: Integrating Long-Range Optical Beacon Guidance with Close-Range AprilTag-Based Pose Estimation. In 2026 IEEE 20th International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA 2026 (pp. 1224-1229). (IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA). IEEE Computer Society. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCA69928.2026.11618284

Wang, Jingyu ; Zhu, Yong ; Zhao, Yifan et al. / A Two-Stage Vision-Guided Autonomous Docking Method for Underwater Unmanned Vehicles : Integrating Long-Range Optical Beacon Guidance with Close-Range AprilTag-Based Pose Estimation. 2026 IEEE 20th International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA 2026. IEEE Computer Society, 2026. pp. 1224-1229 (IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA).

@inproceedings{b3b87e788e3346908b595971854de83f,

title = "A Two-Stage Vision-Guided Autonomous Docking Method for Underwater Unmanned Vehicles: Integrating Long-Range Optical Beacon Guidance with Close-Range AprilTag-Based Pose Estimation",

abstract = "This paper presents a two-stage vision-guided autonomous docking method for UUV docking in underwater environments. A green optical beacon is used for long-range guidance, while an AprilTag marker is adopted for close-range relative pose estimation and fine attitude adjustment. Combined with a self-attention mechanism and finite-state machine-based control, the proposed method improves docking robustness and precision under varying water-clarity conditions. The method provides a practical solution for reliable underwater autonomous docking.",

keywords = "AprilTag pose estimation, finite-state machine control, global self-attention, optical beacon detection, UUV autonomous docking, vision-guided docking",

author = "Jingyu Wang and Yong Zhu and Yifan Zhao and Qi Ling and Zhiyuan Pang and Bo Huang",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2026 IEEE.; 20th IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA 2026 ; Conference date: 16-06-2026 Through 19-06-2026",

year = "2026",

doi = "10.1109/ICCA69928.2026.11618284",

language = "英语",

series = "IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA",

publisher = "IEEE Computer Society",

pages = "1224--1229",

booktitle = "2026 IEEE 20th International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA 2026",

address = "美国",

}

Wang, J, Zhu, Y, Zhao, Y, Ling, Q, Pang, Z & Huang, B 2026, A Two-Stage Vision-Guided Autonomous Docking Method for Underwater Unmanned Vehicles: Integrating Long-Range Optical Beacon Guidance with Close-Range AprilTag-Based Pose Estimation. in 2026 IEEE 20th International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA 2026. IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA, IEEE Computer Society, pp. 1224-1229, 20th IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA 2026, Almaty, Kazakhstan, 16/06/26. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCA69928.2026.11618284

A Two-Stage Vision-Guided Autonomous Docking Method for Underwater Unmanned Vehicles: Integrating Long-Range Optical Beacon Guidance with Close-Range AprilTag-Based Pose Estimation. / Wang, Jingyu; Zhu, Yong; Zhao, Yifan et al.
2026 IEEE 20th International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA 2026. IEEE Computer Society, 2026. p. 1224-1229 (IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

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AU - Zhu, Yong

AU - Zhao, Yifan

AU - Ling, Qi

AU - Pang, Zhiyuan

AU - Huang, Bo

PY - 2026

Y1 - 2026

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AB - This paper presents a two-stage vision-guided autonomous docking method for UUV docking in underwater environments. A green optical beacon is used for long-range guidance, while an AprilTag marker is adopted for close-range relative pose estimation and fine attitude adjustment. Combined with a self-attention mechanism and finite-state machine-based control, the proposed method improves docking robustness and precision under varying water-clarity conditions. The method provides a practical solution for reliable underwater autonomous docking.

KW - AprilTag pose estimation

KW - finite-state machine control

KW - global self-attention

KW - optical beacon detection

KW - UUV autonomous docking

KW - vision-guided docking

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Wang J, Zhu Y, Zhao Y, Ling Q, Pang Z, Huang B. A Two-Stage Vision-Guided Autonomous Docking Method for Underwater Unmanned Vehicles: Integrating Long-Range Optical Beacon Guidance with Close-Range AprilTag-Based Pose Estimation. In 2026 IEEE 20th International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA 2026. IEEE Computer Society. 2026. p. 1224-1229. (IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation, ICCA). doi: 10.1109/ICCA69928.2026.11618284

A Two-Stage Vision-Guided Autonomous Docking Method for Underwater Unmanned Vehicles: Integrating Long-Range Optical Beacon Guidance with Close-Range AprilTag-Based Pose Estimation

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