A maneuverable, pneumatic underwater glider

Author

Wolek, A. ; Burns, J. ; Woolsey, C. ; Quenzer, J. ; Techy, L. ; Morgansen, K.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Aerosp. & Ocean Eng., Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA

fYear

2012

fDate

14-19 Oct. 2012

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

7

Abstract

A coastal (100 meter depth) underwater glider has been developed to serve as a platform for testing advanced perception, planning, and control algorithms to improve glider efficiency and performance. The glider´s buoyancy engine is pneumatically powered, and capable of generating large changes in buoyancy. Powerful and fast moving mass actuators allow the vehicle to achieve a large range of pitch attitudes and an unrestricted range of roll angles. The ability to complete a full 360 degree roll permits the use of asymmetric geometries like wing camber or dihedral and to assess their performance benefits. In this paper, the mechanical and electrical design of the glider is discussed in detail.

Keywords

design engineering; pneumatic actuators; pneumatic systems; underwater vehicles; advanced perception-planning-control algorithms; asymmetric geometries; coastal underwater glider; glider buoyancy engine; glider efficiency; glider electrical design; glider mechanical design; maneuverable pneumatic underwater glider; mass actuators; pitch attitudes; roll angles; wing camber; Acoustics; Bladder; Control systems; Sensors; Solenoids; Valves; Vehicles;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Oceans, 2012

Conference_Location

Hampton Roads, VA

Print_ISBN

978-1-4673-0829-8

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/OCEANS.2012.6404989

Filename

6404989