The
Design of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle for Water
Quality Monitoring
|
Abstract.
This paper describes the development of a civilian-used autonomous
underwater
vehicle (AUV) for water quality monitoring at reservoirs and
watercourses that can obtain realtime visual and locational
information. The mechanical design was completed with CAD
software Solidworks. Four thrusters—two horizontal and two vertical—on
board enable the
vehicle to surge, heave, yaw, and pitch. A specialized water sample
collection compartment is
designed to perform water collection at target locations. The vehicle
has a central controller—
STM32—and a sub-coordinate controller—Arduino MEGA 2560—that
coordinates multiple
sensors including an inertial sensor, ultrasonic sensors, etc. Global
Navigation Satellite System
(GNSS) and the inertial sensor enable the vehicle’s localization.
Remote operators monitor and
control the vehicle via a host computer system. Operators choose either
semi-autonomous
mode in which they set target locations or manual mode. The
experimental results show that
the vehicle is able to perform well in either mode. |