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Design considerations for engineering Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Author(s)
Shah, Vikrant P. (Vikrant Pankaj)
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Alternative title
Design considerations for engineering AUVs
Other Contributors
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Advisor
Hanumant Singh and Henrik Schmidt.
Terms of use
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
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Abstract
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
Thesis (S.M.)--Joint Program in Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2007.
 
Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-89).
 
Date issued
2007
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39893
Department
Joint Program in Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Mechanical Engineering., /Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Joint Program in Applied Ocean Science and Engineering., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

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