Embedded Control System for Underwater Glider based on PSoC5LP

The conventional sonar designed for blue water operations present sub-optimal performance in the littorals, due to site specific behaviour of the underwater channel. The tropical waters in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) further degrade sonar performance due to random fluctuations in the surface parameters like temperature, wind, etc. There exists a requirement to gather credible oceanographic and ambient noise data at specific locations for neutralizing the impact of underwater channel distortions and ambient noise thereby achieving effective sonar performance. Underwater gliders are a class of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) that do not use conventional propeller for propulsion, significantly minimizing their self noise. They are propelled by change in buoyancy to follow a “Saw-tooth” pattern of motion in sea. Underwater gliders are characterized by small size, long endurance, low speed and low cost. These characteristics make gliders extremely valuable for long term oceanographic sensing missions. During the saw-tooth evolutions of glider, the onboard sensor and data acquisition systems constantly record oceanographic data. Due to the ability to glide at slow speeds, gliders have longer deployment capabilities than standard powered autonomous underwater vehicles, making gliders extremely valuable for long term oceanographic sensing missions. An underwater glider design, development and deployment effort with an appropriate payload of sensors will be able to effectively address all important aspect of improving sonar performance for our military as well as non-military sonars in the IOR. The appropriate selection of the sensors, the data acquisition system, power supply modules, processors, system controllers, memory, etc, requires careful study and shortlisting. The interfacing of the multiple components and devices along with the programming of the controllers to manage precise functioning of the entire system requires meticulous efforts. This is a first ever attempt at design and development of a UW glider in India. Significant efforts have been made to design the hydrodynamic body. This paper focuses on the electronics and the onboard controller logic and hardware. The paper put forward the implementation aspects of embedded system to execute all the control functions namely buoyancy variation, data storage from sensors and periodic transmission of stored data to the base station.