The NPS AUV II Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Testbed: Design and Experimental Verification

Abstract

The design, construction and testing of an autonomous un- derwater vehicle (AUV) for use as a research and development testbed at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is presented. Design objectives, analysis and trade-offs are discussed with respect to a generic AUV with specific details for the case of the NPS AUV 11. System integration and flexibility are empha- sized in the subject vehicle to support presently planned and future research employment. Hull, mobility, sensors, automatic control, and energy subsystems are described. Design and fab- rication techniques for the NPS AUV I1 vehicle hull and equip- ment are documented. Some results from an experimental pro- gram illustrating verification of vehicle design are described.