Development of an Adaptive Docking Station for Resident Underwater Vehicles

The design of a Subsea Autonomous Docking Lander (SADL), as a part of an open-access underwater robot sensing network, is presented. The proposed system will serve as an offshore charging and data-transmission station for resident autonomous underwater vehicles. To ensure the reliability and repeatability of underwater docking, SADL was developed with multiple unique features. These include a motorized vehicle securing system that automatically detects the presence of the vehicle in the docking position and secures the vehicle. Four self-leveling legs are designed to adapt to a wide range of seafloor conditions. SADL also features a unique front-entry and bottom-exit design to reduce the internal build-up of foreign objects during long-term deployment. The feasibility and performance of the proposed SADL prototype were evaluated with a remotely operable vehicle in both laboratory and ocean environments.