The design and production of an X4-AUV

In this research, an X4-AUV consisting of four thrusters is designed and manufactured to develop a small AUV which does not use any rudders. Especially, each thruster is arranged at equal intervals to the same plane, and the attitude motions of a roll, a pitch and a yaw, and the translational motion of forward are realizable by changing the rotational speeds of four thrusters. First, the construction of an X4-AUV and the motion method are described, together with the added mass. Next, regarding the production of the X4-AUV, the selection of parts, the structure and thrust of a thruster, the manufacture of a waterproofed container, etc. are described. Finally, some experiments are conducted to verify the forward motion of X4-AUV and the rotational motion in each attitude.