Cornell University Autonomous Underwater Vehicle : Design and Implementation of the Ragnarök AUV

The CUAUV Ragnarök is a new littoral autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) developed by a team of undergraduate students at Cornell University. Built in a ten month design cycle, the vehicle was fully modeled using CAD software and manufactured almost entirely in-house. With a number of new innovations, Ragnarök presents a stronger, lighter, and more agile platform with increased capabilities over previous vehicles. New advancements include a stronger yet extremely light frame, an improved electrical system, and significant software changes which yield improved mission reliability and robustness. Ragnarök’s sensor suite includes three color cameras, compasses, inertial measurement units (IMUs), a Teledyne RDI Explorer Doppler velocity log, a depth sensor, an internal pressure sensor, and a hydrophone array. Returning features include the single-hull cantilevered electronics rack, a vacuumassisted sealing system, hot-swappable battery pods, pneumatic actuators, unified serial communications, and flexible mission software architecture.