Technology and Applications of Autonomous Underater Vehicles [Hardcover]

The oceans are a hostile environment, and gathering information on deep-sea life and the seabed is incredibly difficult. Autonomous underwater vehicles are robot submarines that are revolutionizing the way in which researchers and industry obtain data. Advances in technology have resulted in capable vehicles that have made new discoveries on how the oceans work, and have dramatically reduced the cost to industry of surveying the seabed. Technology and Applications of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles describes the technologies that have made this happen, as well as a host of applications from fish abundance studies to finding diamonds beneath the sea. There is tremendous scope for further innovation beyond the topics discussed, and this book will help the next generation of engineers and scientists in academia, industry and government laboratories, to deliver those advances.Distributed Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation for Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Development - Issues and Applications. Power Sources for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles. Autonomous Buoyancy-driven Underwater Gliders. Solar Powered Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. Advanced Materials and Their Influence on the Structural Design of AUVs. Docking Systems. Propulsion Systems for AUVs. AUV Tasks in the Offshore Industry. Multidisciplinary Ocean Science Applications of an AUV: The Autosub Science Missions Programme. Defense Applications for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles. Detailed Seabed Surveys With AUVs. AUVs for Surveys in Complex Environments. Cargo Carrying AUVs. Semi-submersible AUVs. AUV Sensors for Marine Research. Logistics, Risks and Procedures Concerning AUVs. The Legal Regime Governing the Operation of AUVs.