A quadrotor-like unmanned underwater vehicle

A quadrotor-like unmanned underwater vehicle, named QUUV, is presented in this paper. It has four thrusters, which can be inclined configuration. It is designed and implemented based on hydrodynamic optimization. The mathematical model is built and the difference with ordinary underwater vehicles is discussed. A sliding mode controller is adopted to control the underwater vehicle. The results show that the new kind of underwater vehicle will be a powerful tool for ocean research.