The Texas A&M University autonomous underwater vehicle controller

The US Navy has conducted numerous studies on the use of unmanned submersibles, largely for high-risk missions where there is a significant probability of loss of life. In 1988, the Naval Surface Warfare Center, White Oak Detachment, under the sponsorship of the Office of Naval Technology, funded an exploratory development contract to Texas A&M University (TAMU) to develop a controller for Naval Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. The resulting control concept was fully developed and demonstrated, in both laboratory and at-sea tests. The paper discusses the laboratory and at-sea validation of the TAMU autonomous underwater vehicle controller.