Design and construction of the hull of an autonomous underwater vehicle with biomimetic profile and development of instrumentation and control system

Abstract

Seabed research has motivated the development of Underwater Vehicles (UVs). Study of marine life can be performed using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) but most of the development has been restricted to conventional propulsion systems based on jet or propeller thrust generation. These systems are limited in their deployment due to the excessive noise that tends to scare fishes and other forms of marine life during exploration. Moreover, the appearance of these vehicles can be disruptive to the marine environment. Nowadays, the relatively high-cost of fuel and rules of environmental protection have encouraged researchers to find more eco-friendly solutions. This work proposes a novel design of an AUV based on biomimicking the anatomy and swimming mechanics of tuna and dolphin. Simulation and construction of a prototype were performed to test and verify the successful integration of the components. Moreover, numerical simulation was developed to assess the effect of the propulsion system under hydrodynamic conditions to evaluate the feasibility of the design.