Catabot: Autonomous Surface Vehicle with an Optimized Design for Environmental Monitoring

This paper presents an optimized design of research-oriented ASVs and a systematic design evaluation methodology for reliable in-water sensing. The objective is to minimize the interference on sensor readings by any ASV maneuver. The design space includes motors and sensors locations. In addition, this paper analyzes modularity - i.e., the effects of new sensor's installation. All prototype designs are thoroughly tested using hydrostatic analyses, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations, and real-world field testings. Quantitative metrics, including trim, pitch, velocity magnitude of flow, and turbulence, are used to compare different configurations. Our experiments show that a motor configuration at the back part of the straights hulls is the most optimal design, resulting in high-quality data collection.