An interface system for autonomous undersea vehicles

Central to the successful operation of an autonomous undersea vehicle (AUV) is the capability to return from a mission, in that there is consistent recovery or docking of the AUV. In addition, some missions may require communication with and power transfer to the AUV after docking. This paper describes an inductive system that provides a nonintrusive power and communications interface between the dock and the AUV. The system makes up to 200 W of AC or DC power available to the AUV. The communications interface is 10BaseT Ethernet and is platform- and protocol-independent. The overall design of the system is given as well as results from wet laboratory and field tests.