This book deals with the state of the art in underwater robotics experiments of dynamic control of an underwater vehicle. The author presents experimental results on motion control and fault tolerance to thrusters’ faults with the autonomous vehicle ODIN. This second substantially improved and expanded edition new features are presented dealing with fault-tolerant control and coordinated control of autonomous underwater vehicles.

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are emerging as a promising solution to help us explore and understand the ocean. The global market for AUVs is predicted to grow from 638 million dollars in 2020 to 1,638 million dollars by 2025 – a compound annual growth rate of 20.8 percent. To make AUVs suitable for a wider range of application-specific missions, it is necessary to deploy multiple AUVs to cooperatively perform the localization, tracking and formation tasks. However, weak underwater acoustic communication and the model uncertainty of AUVs make achieving this challenging. This book presents cutting-edge results regarding localization, tracking and formation for AUVs, highlighting the latest research on commonly encountered AUV systems. It also showcases several joint localization and tracking solutions for AUVs. Lastly, it discusses future research directions and provides guidance on the design of future localization, tracking and formation schemes for AUVs. Representing a substantial contribution to nonlinear system theory, robotic control theory, and underwater acoustic communication system, this book will appeal to university researchers, scientists, engineers, and graduate students in control theory and control engineering who wish to learn about the core principles, methods, algorithms, and applications of AUVs. Moreover, the practical localization, tracking and formation schemes presented provide guidance on exploring the ocean. The book is intended for those with an understanding of nonlinear system theory, robotic control theory, and underwater acoustic communication systems.

UNDERWATER ROBOTICS: Science, Design & Fabrication is written for advanced high school classes or college and university entry-level courses. Each chapter begins with ¿Stories From Real Life,¿ a true scenario that sets the stage for the ocean science, physics, math, electronics, and engineering concepts that follow. One chapter features step-by-step plans for building SeaMATE, a basic shallow-diving ROV. There¿s also a ¿Going Deeper¿ chapter that discusses considerations and modifications for deeper-diving vehicles.

Unmanned marine vehicles (UMVs) include autonomous underwater vehicles, remotely operated vehicles, semi-submersibles and unmanned surface craft. Considerable importance is being placed on the design and development of such vehicles, as they provide cost-effective solutions to a number of littoral, coastal and offshore problems. This book highlights the advanced technology that is evolving to meet the challenges being posed in this exciting and growing area of research.

The recent development of advanced processing capabilities and higher yield power supplies means that Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUVs) are finding novel and increasingly advanced applications in research, military and commercial settings.

All life came from sea but all robots were born on land. The vast majority of both industrial and mobile robots operate on land, since the technology to allow them to operate in and under the ocean has only become available in recent years. A number of complex issues due to the unstructured, hazardous undersea environment, makes it difficult to travel in the ocean while today's technologies allow humans to land on the moon and robots to travel to Mars . . Clearly, the obstacles to allowing robots to operate in a saline, aqueous, and pressurized environment are formidable. Mobile robots operating on land work under nearly constant atmospheric pressure; their legs (or wheels or tracks) can operate on a firm footing; their bearings are not subjected to moisture and corrosion; they can use simple visual sensing and be observed by their creators working in simple environments. In contrast, consider the environment where undersea robots must operate. The pressure they are subjected to can be enormous, thus requiring extremely rugged designs. The deep oceans range between 19,000 to 36,000 ft. At a mere 33-foot depth, the pressure will be twice the normal one atmosphere pressure of 29. 4 psi. The chemical environment of the sea is highly corrosive, thus requiring the use of special materials. Lubrication of moving parts in water is also difficult, and may require special sealed, waterproof joints.

The United States faces decisions requiring information about the oceans in vastly expanded scales of time and space and from oceanic sectors not accessible with the suite of tools now used by scientists and engineers. Advances in guidance and control, communications, sensors, and other technologies for undersea vehicles can provide an opportunity to understand the oceans' influence on the energy and chemical balance that sustains humankind and to manage and deliver resources from and beneath the sea. This book assesses the state of undersea vehicle technology and opportunities for vehicle applications in science and industry. It provides guidance about vehicle subsystem development priorities and describes how national research can be focused most effectively.