Development of the Autonomous Control System for Autonomous Underwater Glider with Independently Controllable Main Wings

Abstract

In recent years, global warming has become more and more serious, and the practical application of renewable energy that does not rely on fossil fuels has become an urgent issue. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations as goals to be achieved by 2030 include "take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts" and "conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development", and countries around the world are beginning to work on it. The ocean, which occupies about 70% of the earth's surface, has a great influence on the global climate change, and it is extremely important to understand the ocean environment correctly. Recently, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are playing an active role in oceanographic surveys and seafloor exploration. Especially, autonomous underwater gliders that can be operated for a long period of time are attracting attention for global marine environment surveys. The underwater glider with independently controllable main wings developed at Osaka Prefecture University realises high kinetic performance by controlling the left and right main wings independently. In this research, the authors attempted to develop an autonomous control system and verify it by automatic navigation simulation aiming at the establishment of a control system to be implemented on a testbed vehicle of the underwater glider with independently controllable main wings, "SOARER".