DRDO Tests Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV)- An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is a robot which travels underwater without requiring input from an operator. In military applications AUVs are more often referred to simply as unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs).

The aim of the AUV is to aid the Indian Navy in surveying waters and help in the deterrence of hostile ships or submarines.

The control and navigation algorithms and guidance strategy for DRDO's 1,500 kg Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) was developed by the Department of Engineering Design, IIT Madras.

The AUV has already passed the first stage of DRDO’s project level testing. There is now a proposal to expand the AUV project to a major development programme. The project level testing is basically to prove that technological integration of the software developed by IIT Madras with the hardware is possible, and the integrated system works as a whole.

The four-metre long, 1.4-metre wide, 1,500 kg, flat fish-shaped vehicle can travel at a speed of about 7 km per hour at depths of up to 300 metres below sea level.

Heart of the vehicle

Topics To Be Read	The control and navigation algorithms and guidance strategy are the three most challenging aspects of an AUV, and all these together are considered as the heart of the vehicle. They were developed by a team led by Prof. T. Asokan of the Department of Engineering Design, IIT Madras.
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The control and navigation algorithms and guidance strategy are the three most challenging aspects of an AUV, and all these together are considered as the heart of the vehicle. They were developed by a team led by Prof. T. Asokan of the Department of Engineering Design, IIT Madras.

The control algorithm ensures that the various performance parameters of the vehicle, like speed and acceleration are achieved. Guidance strategy, on the other hand, is about planning a certain path to avoid obstacles and maintaining a required trajectory.

A navigation algorithm continuously monitors the location of the vehicle with respect to the desired location and corrects for any errors. The guidance strategy works in combination with navigation to maintain the pre-planned trajectory.

When the vehicle deviates from its intended path, the guidance and control systems activate the propellers (technically called ‘thrusters’) and control planes to ensure that the vehicle returns to the original trajectory and continue moving along the desired path.

The propeller configuration can be changed depending on the mission requirements. Movements in six different directions — upward and downward, forward and reverse, and left and right (port and starboard) — can be achieved by propellers placed suitably.