Abstract:

In order to make our seafloor observatory network to be a long-term, real-time marine environment stereoscopic observation network which combines dynamic and wide-range observation of deep-sea moving platforms with static and long-term observation of network nodes, an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) docking station with two swinging degrees of freedom are developed. The main structure design and the Lagrange dynamics equation of the station are established. The effect of the mass of the adjustable weight on the stability of the system is analyzed along with software simulation. A scaling prototype has been made to do water-tank experiment. Results of both simulation and experiments indicate that the case is feasible in adapting to uneven terrain, reducing the installation difficulty. Anti-interference performance of the station can be dramatically improved by increasing the mass of the adjustable weight.

Key words: adjustable weight, AUV, docking station, two swinging degrees of freedom, seafloor observatory network