Design considerations for engineering autonomous underwater vehicles
Citable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/1883DOI
10.1575/1912/1883Keyword
Submersibles; Ocean engineeringAbstract
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) have been established as a viable tool for
Oceanographic Sciences. Being untethered and independent, AUVs fill the gap in Ocean
Exploration left by the existing manned submersible and remotely operated vehicles
(ROV) technology. AUVs are attractive as cheaper and efficient alternatives to the older
technologies and are breaking new ground in many applications. Designing an
autonomous vehicle to work in the harsh environment of the deep ocean comes with its
set of challenges. This paper discusses how the current engineering technologies can be
adapted to the design of AUVs.
Recently, as the AUV technology has matured, we see AUVs being used in a variety
of applications ranging from sub-surface sensing to sea-floor mapping. The design of the
AUV, with its tight constraints, is very sensitive to the target application. Keeping this in
mind, the goal of this thesis is to understand how some of the major issues affect the
design of the AUV. This paper also addresses the mechanical and materials issues,
power system design, computer architecture, navigation and communication systems,
sensor considerations and long term docking aspects that affect AUV design.
With time, as the engineering sciences progress, the AUV design will have to change
in order to optimize its performance. Thus, the fundamental issues discussed in this
paper can assist in meeting the challenge of maintaining AUV design on par with modern
technology.
Description
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution June 2007
Suggested Citation
Thesis: Shah, Vikrant P., "Design considerations for engineering autonomous underwater vehicles", 2007-06, DOI:10.1575/1912/1883, https://hdl.handle.net/1912/1883Related items
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