Electric thrusters for autonomous underwater vehicles

This paper presents a review of the work that is being carried out at the University of Southampton to develop electric thrusters for unmanned underwater vehicles. The work has concentrated mainly on electric thrusters for tethered work-class remotely operated vehicles, which work at fairly low vehicle speeds, as a replacement for existing hydraulic thrusters. It is also relevant to untethered autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), that are typically designed for longer-range inspection work at moderate, steady speeds. There is also ongoing research on a novel type of electric motor, capable of high output power and high efficiency at low speed, which is seen as potentially suitable for AUV thrusters