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Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV)

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Encyclopedia of Ocean Engineering

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Synonyms

Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV); Doppler velocity log (DVL); Long baseline (LBL); Ultrashort baseline (USBL); Unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV)

Definition

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) without tethers that are powered by onboard energy sources. They are intended to accomplish pre-defined tasks with little or no human supervision. They can be fully or largely autonomous, communicating intermittently with operators using acoustic or radio links.

Gliders form a distinct subclass of AUVs. They move through the water column, translating the vertical forces of positive or negative buoyancy into a horizontal motion using wings. Whereas propeller-driven AUVs have endurance measured in hours or days (tens or hundreds of miles), glider endurance is measured in weeks or months (thousands of miles).

Brief History of AUV Development

AUV development began in the late 1950s (Blidberg 2001; Von Alt 2003). A few AUVs were built mostly to...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Zhengping Feng

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  1. Zhengping Feng
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhengping Feng .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hadal Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China

    Weicheng Cui

  2. School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Shixiao Fu

  3. School of Marine Science and Technology, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK

    Zhiqiang Hu

Section Editor information

  1. Hadal Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China

    Weicheng Cui

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Feng, Z. (2019). Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). In: Cui, W., Fu, S., Hu, Z. (eds) Encyclopedia of Ocean Engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6963-5_44-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6963-5_44-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-6963-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-6963-5

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