Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
Roadmap Overview
Throughout history, the ocean has been a vital source of sustenance, transport, commerce, growth, and inspiration. Yet for all of our reliance on the ocean, more than eighty percent of this vast, underwater realm remains unmapped, unobserved, and unexplored. AUVs provide great opportunities for exploring our oceans. An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is a robot that travels underwater without requiring input from an operator.
Image source: Naval Technology
Design Structure Matrix (DSM) Allocation
Roadmap Model using OPM
This diagram captures the main object of the roadmap (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle), its various instances including its decomposition into subsystems (Sensors, Navigation, propulsion, Battery, etc…), its characterization by Figures of Merit (FOMs) as well as the main processes (Surveying, Recharging, etc).
An Object-Process-Language (OPL) description of the roadmap scope is auto-generated and given below. It reflects the same content as the previous figure, but in a formal natural language.
Figures of Merit (FOMs)
The table below shows a list of FOMs by which autonomous underwater vehicle can be assessed.
| FOM name | Units | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Distance | km | Distance that can be traveled in an operation |
| Speed | km/h | Cruising speed in the water |
| Payload | kg | Useful payload that can be carried |
| Diving Depth | m | Depth that can be reached |
| Endurance | h | Hours that can be operated |
Alignment with Company Strategic Drivers
Positioning of Company vs. Competition
Technical Model
Key Publications and Patents
In the inspection of Oil & Gas offshore platforms, AUV moves slowly near the facilities such as pipelines on the seabed, and AUV checks the facilities by using nondestructive inspection methods. The key technologies for inspection AUVs are the energy supply and inspection method, so we select the related key publication and patent as below.