The Design and Development of a Solar-Powered AUV with an Unconventional Shape

Unmanned underwater robots have the ability to carry various sensors to perform underwater tasks in the inaccessible environment for humans. Solar-powered AUVs can use sustainable natural energy to be capable of offering long-term mission support. This paper presents the ongoing development work on the overall design of a solar-powered AUV(SAUV). An overview of the SAUV and its design goals, especially an unconventional vehicle shape due to integrating solar panels with the SAUV, will be described. With a weight of 260kg, length of 2 meters, width of 2 meters, the SAUV is propelled by a specially designed vectorial thruster, with a maximum speed of 2knots. The AUV is equipped with multiple commonly used sensors as the perception system. The autonomous operation of SAUV is achieved by using Robotics Operating System (ROS). The SAUV has undergone at sea testing in Nanshan Harbor, Sanya. Overall, the test results achieve satisfactory effects.