Customizing an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle and developing a launch and recovery system

In October 2012, International Submarine Engineering Ltd. (ISE) delivered an Explorer Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) to Fukada Salvage and Marine Works Co. Ltd. of Japan for marine salvage and ocean resource exploration. This vehicle is based on the standard 3000 m depth rated Explorer AUV design and was customized to meet the customer's needs. The Fukada Salvage Explorer AUV (named “Deep 1”) is equipped with a multibeam echosounder, sidescan sonar, sub-bottom profiler, Doppler Velocity Log/Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (DVL/ADCP), sound velocity sensor, and Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) sensor. This vehicle is very similar to the two deep AUVs which ISE is currently building for the Japan Coast Guard. For ocean mining exploration operations, the Deep 1 vehicle will be outfitted with a 3-axis flux-gate magnetometer, nephelometer, pH sensor, and self-potential sensor. The modularity of the Explorer AUV will allow these sensors to be easily integrated without changing the basic design of the vehicle. Several items were custom-designed for the Fukada Salvage Explorer AUV: an obstacle avoidance system, a ramp style Launch and Recovery System (LARS), and a belly pack remote control for use with the LARS. The forward looking obstacle avoidance system was developed as a lightweight and low cost alternative to commercially available obstacle avoidance systems. This system utilizes three Imagenex singlebeam echosounders and ISE-developed control algorithms to allow the Explorer to avoid obstacles in front of the vehicle. ISE and Hawboldt Industries Ltd. of Chester, NS, developed a ramp LARS, which allows the vehicle to be launched and recovered without use of a ship's crane in up to sea state 4. The LARS greatly reduces the number of personnel required for launch and recovery operations, and is safer for personnel and the vehicle. A belly pack was developed, which allows the operator to control the vehicle while on deck. In this paper, we discuss the features of the Explorer AUV and the integration of the sensors for the Fukada Salvage Explorer AUV. We also discuss the development of the Obstacle Avoidance System and Launch and Recovery System.