A New Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle for Dynamics and Control Research

This paper reports the development of a new remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) designed to serve as a platform for rapid development and deployment of novel underwater vehicle systems. The goal is to enhance our ability develop new underwater vehicle subsystems in the laboratory, and rapidly field-test these new systems. Although a significant fraction of ONR and NSF sponsored underwater vehicle research is now directed towards AUVs, we argue that ROVs continue to provide a highly efficient platform for the research and development of advanced underwater technology. Once developed and validated on ROVs, numerous technologies have been readily transitioned for use in autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Section 1.1 examines several contexts in which ROVs have served as development platforms for critical AUV technology. Section 1.2 reviews the desired performance specifications for the new vehicle.

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