Design, analysis and control of an autonomous underwater surveillance robot

Abstract

A large part of our oceans is still an uncharted territory to humans. The coastal and river bodies serve as a channel for transportation and trades, and hence are vulnerable to accidents and mishaps. In some unfortunate case of an airplane crash, it becomes really hard to find an object underwater, and it also put human lives at stake. Thus, a continuous probation is needed. The aim of this paper is to study the design and development of an Autonomous Underwater Surveillance Robot which would propel this human endeavor and can also be deployed for security surveillance for the navy. The design and development of the robot took place in a controlled environment. The paper aims to suggest a design for the robot with functionalities for maneuverings, image recognition and depth control. The paper revolves around designing the robot and performing various simulation analysis so as to get a clear picture of its condition in the real life simulation. It needs intelligent platforms to solve such complex problems. Using various software packages such as Solid Works and OpenProp for the design and analysis part and FlowExpress for pressure and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation. The proposed model for the robot is a robust design with concern to all the surrounding and the environmental conditions. The result is a streamlined design for the AUV facing the least underwater drag.