Ballast Control System Hardware in an AUV for a Research Project of Marine Electronic Dept. (SMTU)

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are widespread and effective tool for oceanographic research. The main applications of AUVs are long-term missions for survey of wide area and patrolling. However, the main task of the AUV is to dive under water and float to the surface. Almost always, this means that the apparatus must pump water into itself to descend and pour out water to float. This task is performed by the Ballast control system. There are many options of ready-made systems, which we will discuss.