Rex 2 : design, construction, and operation of an unmanned underwater vehicle
Author(s)
Owens, Dylan
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Alternative title
Rex two
Design, construction, and operation of an unmanned underwater vehicle
Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.
Advisor
Chryssostomos Chryssostomidis.
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The practical usage of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) is limited by vehicle and operation cost, difficulty in accurate navigation, and communication between the vehicle and operator. The "Rex 2" UUV employs a system design where a submersible is connected to a float at the water's surface by means of a tether. By maintaining a surface expression, high-bandwidth radio communication to the operator becomes possible, and GPS may be used for accurate navigation. This arrangement allows the freedom of movement characteristic of untethered autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), while maintaining the live operator control and communication found with tethered remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). Expanding on the design and field experiences with the MIT AUV Lab's first Reef Explorer UUV, Rex 2 was designed to be inexpensive, easy to deploy, adaptable to various payloads, and simple to use. Rex 2 was designed, built, and operated in a number of ocean field tests, validating the utility of the vehicle and system concept.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2009. This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. Includes bibliographical references (leaf [62]).
Date issued
2009Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical EngineeringPublisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Mechanical Engineering.