Abstract
Autonomous and remotely operated underwater vehicles allow us to reach places which have previously been inaccessible and perform complex repair, exploration and analysis tasks. As their navigation is not infallible, they may cause severe damage to themselves and their often fragile surroundings, such as flooded caves, coral reefs, or even accompanying divers in case of a collision. In this study, we used a shallow neural network, consisting of interlinking PID controllers, and trained by a genetic algorithm, to control a biologically inspired AUV with a soft and compliant exoskeleton. Such a compliant structure is a versatile and passive solution which reduces the accelerations induced by collisions to 56% of the original mean value acting upon the system, thus, notably reducing the stress on its components and resulting reaction forces on its surroundings. The segmented structure of this spherical exoskeleton protects the encased system without limiting the use of cameras, sensors or manipulators.
Highlights
In recent years the use of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) has become increasingly popular in marine biology and underwater exploration
The AUV has a total of six NTM Prop Drive 1000 KV brushless motors which are each connected to a Turnigy MultiStar 30 ampere electronic speed controller
The fitness of each individual was determined by its resulting Mean Squared Error (MSE), computed during the runtime of the tuning phase by directly comparing the filtered sensor deviation of the inertial measurement unit within each generation
Summary
In recent years the use of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) has become increasingly popular in marine biology and underwater exploration. These vehicles enable humans to reach depths and areas which would otherwise be too dangerous for divers or inaccessible (Hudson et al, 2005). Especially when having to navigate in complex or confined spaces, such as flooded caves, shipwrecks or coral reefs, conventional ROVs still show significant practical limitations. In fragile confined spaces such as underwater caves, a rigid object colliding with the environment can cause the release of debris or even rocks
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