Design of a small, cheap UUV for underwater exploration

摘要

Small UUVs have a wide variety of applications including inspection, specimen and salvage gathering, instrument placement and exploration. However the use of these UUVs has been limited by the following two factors: Cost and underwater communication technology. Most of the UUV's that we could found in literature are expensive to build as well as maintain and this has kept the technology out of the average marine operator's hands. Moreover, since there has not been any significant revolution in underwater communication, most UUVs send up a tether for video transmission, control of the vehicle, and sometimes even power transmission. This paper describes the design and function of a small (less than 10kg) and inexpensive UUV that is remotely operated. The UUV can send back a live video feed and can be used for all kinds of underwater exploration including inspection of fouled propellers, discovery underwater and looking for lost salvage.