Abstract
Abstract: An ocean-going underwater glider with independently controllable main wings is under development for applications in oceanographic surveying, monitoring of the marine environment, and ocean exploration. Power-driven propulsive machinery is unnecessary for this underwater glider so that it is applicable to long-term and wide-range operations. And this silent and safe underwater vehicle can be maintained with relative ease and does not cause any harm to the ocean environment and underwater marine life. The purpose of this research is to establish a method to control an experimental vehicle named 'ALEX' as a test-bed for an underwater glider with independently controllable main wings. ALEX was designed to realise high performance manoeuvrability. The six servomotors for the right and left main wings, upper rudder, elevator, movable balance weight and combination valve can be controlled by the on-board microcomputer system MAVC2 (Micro Aerial Vehicle Controller 2^<nd> model) through a servomotor controller. Three axes acceleration, three axes angular velocity, depth and direction by magnetic compass during a cruise can be measured in 10 samples per second and stored in the EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) as the flight recorder for a maximum of 20 minutes. The ALEX glider is navigated by dead reckoning under water but accurate positioning can be obtained by GPS when it is at the surface. These sensor data are transmitted to a PC station by a wireless modem system when positioned at the surface. Various kinds of experiments and motion observation have illustrated that an underwater glider with independently controllable main wings exhibits a high performance of motion and has remarkable capabilities for diving / surfacing with a much smaller gliding angle as compared with a conventional fixed-wing underwater glider.
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