Autonomous vehicle development for vertical submarine observation

This work proposes the development of an ocean observation vehicle. This vehicle, a hybrid between Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) and Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASV) moves on the surface of the sea and makes vertical immersions to obtain the profiles of a water column according to a pre-established plan. Its design provides lower production cost and higher efficiency. GPS navigation allows the platform to move along the surface of the water while a radio-modem provides direct communication links and telemetry.