Design of a Modular Offshore Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Servicing Platform

Abstract

Deep-sea scientific data is often challenging and expensive to collect because the primary method of acquisition, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), are limited by battery capacity and must be charged and serviced by crewed support ships. The Platform for Expanding AUV exploRation to Longer ranges (PEARL) hopes to solve this through an autonomous offshore AUV-servicing platform that can charge AUVs, collect their data, and upload it to the internet via modern satellite terminals. The second-generation PEARL prototype (PEARL v2) has been tested and developed on for two years and its design weaknesses are showing. This thesis details the design and manufacturing of a third-generation PEARL prototype (PEARL v3) that upgrades the structural and mechanical systems while retaining the size, profile, and core electronics of PEARL v2. The design process examined PEARL v2’s hardware and how it was used to identify points of improvement, such as its inability to easily be launched with a boat ramp, or its susceptibility to corrosion due to fastener choice, and addressed them. The redesign also enables PEARL to achieve the project’s new objectives. PEARL v3’s design significantly improves traversal capabilities which will support a robust autonomous navigation and collision avoidance system. The design also features a modular architecture that will allow PEARL v3 to be re-equipped with various mission packages for different tasks. PEARL v3 will serve as the projects structural base and foundation for future development and testing.