Development of autonomous underwater vehicle

Abstract

In view of ever-increasing application od underwater robotics the various sectors of maritime fraternity, development of an autonomous underwater vehicle is undertaken which can perform commercial operations such as underwater hull inspections and survey missions. Capitalizing on experience gained from previous project and having considered various shape options, a single framed dual housed six-thruster configuration has been chosen which emphasis on increased space for components and improved stability parameters. This arrangement is to overcome torpedo shaped inability to hover while maintaining optimum speed and lowest possible drag. It uses high quality underwater cameras for obstacle avoidance, image processing, capturing and storing images, which is analyzed later during quality inspections. The working model of the proposed AUV is developed and tested in real underwater conditions. The vehicle is still in the development stage and systems are being advanced and integrated over time.