Multi-Mode Hybrid Aerial Underwater Vehicle with Extended Endurance

Hybrid aerial underwater vehicle (HAUV) capable of operating in multi-domain environments would enable various complex applications, such as air/water search and rescue, water sampling or underwater explorations. Unfortunately, existing HAUVs are commonly criticized for low efficiency and not able to satisfy the demand of operating longevity in both air and water. Attitude control of HAUV is also a significant challenge considering the vehicle's airwater transition. This paper presents a novel HAUV with better endurance by merging the concepts of underwater gliders (UGs), multirotors, and the fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) together. This paper firstly presents the dynamic models for the proposed HAUV. A mission based control strategy was then designed for the global control of the multi-domain mission. Finally, a simulation composed of underwater glide, vertical take-off, and forward flight was performed to verify the feasibility of the proposed HAUV. The results showed that the proposed HAUV successfully realized the multi-domain motion with the three modes, and the advantages of lower power consumption rate and extended moving ability were also demonstrated.

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