2P1-I09 Design of an Underactuated Underwater Vehicle Using Counter Rotating Propellers(Underwater Robot and Mechatronics(2))

Abstract

Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) usually utilize several thruster to avoid non-holonomicity and generally neglect rolling moment along the longitudinal axis. A new UUV design is proposed that implements two counter rotating screw propellers that make active use of the resulting motor counter moment for locomotion. Inputs from the operator are controlled using data from an inertial measurement unit (IMU) integrated through a simple PID-controller. Experiments were carried out in a plexiglass pool. First results are promising and confirm the applicability of using the motor counter moment for locomotion.