Abstract

Various methods to achieve docking between an autonomous underwater vehicle and an underwater docking station have been proposed. Enabling underwater docking can provide a significant increase in the range and endurance of autonomous underwater vehicles, which can lessen the need for a support ship, and reduce the cost of operation. Most of the underwater docking methods consist of docking stations that are designed to work with an existing AUV, and modification to the AUV's control system and hardware to enable docking, battery charging, and communication. We provide a brief review of these docking systems, and the technologies used for underwater docking, energy transfer, and data communication. We also provide a concept for an underwater sensor network that consists of both AUVs and sensor stations.

Keywords:
beacon, auv, hovering-type auv, proc ocean, sensor station, mt ieee conf, cruising-type auv, autonomous underwater vehicle, artificial intelligence, data transfer
Subjects:
Information Management and Systems
This content is only available via PDF.
2015. International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers
You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.