Types and characteristics of underwater vehicles Essay

On Earth, water covers more than 70 percent of the earth's surface and on 2000, the (NOAA) estimated that as much as 95 percent of the world's oceans and 99 percent of the ocean floor are unexplored. Research carried out by researcher's required underwater vehicles in exploration and data collection of unexplored underwater. The service of underwater vehicles not limited for research exploration, it also used for surveillance, detecting, and mapping submerged wrecks, inspection of commercial undersea facilities, military operations and for operations in deeper and riskier areas where human divers cannot reach. Underwater vehicles can be categorized into several different groups according to their particular characteristics
Unmanned is referring to a vehicle has no people present to operate or be in charge and contrarily with manned underwater vehicles. Manned underwater consists of submarines and submersibles. The submarines are much bigger than submersibles and are not tied to a surface support ship. Submersibles can go to the deepest parts of the ocean and are mostly used for research and exploration while submarines usually belong to the navy and are used for defense and patrolling. ROVs are controlled by a human operator from a cable or on wireless communication on a ship or on the ground. Differently, AUVs is controlled automatically by onboard computers and can work independently without connecting to the surface. This ability to operate free of any tether cables increases the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of these vehicles by enhancing their mission duration and range capabilities while also increasing their speeds compared to ROVs. Also, due to onboard cutting edge computer vision and image processing technologies and presence of intelligent navigation systems, these vehicles are able to cut down the number of errors in critical missions with the reduce of a human operator. AUVs have received wider attention than ROVs due to advantages of operational efficiency, mobility, and low operational cost
AUVs are programmable robotic vehicles that are driven through the water by a propulsion system, controlled and piloted by onboard computer and maneuverable in three dimensions. AUVs have onboard control systems that use the information recorded by sensors to determine the demands to be sent to the vehicle actuators to complete the defined missions . AUVs communicate with operators periodically or continuously through satellite signals or underwater acoustic beacons to permit some level of control. Some AUVs can also make decisions on their own, changing their mission profile based on environmental data they receive through sensors while under way
Different AUVs with various body shapes and sizes have been designed over the past 50 or so years .Not long ago, AUVs looked and operated like torpedoes i.e., they were long cylinders that kept moving. As technology has improved, AUVs have become more complex adopting a variety of new forms and functions. Now AUVs can glide from the sea surface to the ocean depths, and back. Others can stop, hover, and move similar as blimps or quadrotor helicopters do through the air. Assorted AUVs are selling for international market by company