Wireless Charging for Autonomous under Water Vehicles

Abstract

In Modern days robotics have taken up the space in the form of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) throughout the marine environment. As the robustness, complexity, efficiency and reliability, has increased simultaneously the ability of AUVs to perform complex missions too. The tasks that once required a fleet of ships, several months to complete, and numerous divers are now being performed by AUVs. So many technology advancements have been made in the field of AUVs still the time to last for longer duration remains a limiting factor. Removal of mines, deep search and in disaster situations it proves to be advantage to environment. Most of the AUVs are using the energy stored in the form of battery. But to deploy the AUV for a mission requires charging it above water which is time intensive. Depending on weather conditions, sea state, and is often dangerous for crew member as well as AUV. While deployment and recovery will remain critical, there exists a need to find a safer and faster recharging method that saves time & does not require recovery of AUVs. This paper proposes the power transfer and rapid charging techniques of AUVs reliability to charge a single battery pack faster. Power is transferred through the uses of inductive coils. It is then transferred to a step down buck converter with feedback controller under the varying load voltage. The system is capable of transferring up to 500W of instantaneous power to a single battery pack. Further It is electrically isolated from the power source and can be easily integrated into an AUV for testing in future.