The MARES AUV, a Modular Autonomous Robot for Environment Sampling

Abstract

Abstract-In this paper, we discuss the design aspects and the development of the MARES AUV, a 1.5m long vehicle, weighting 32kg, designed and built at the University of Porto, Portugal. This vehicle is highly maneuverable, with the ability to move in the vertical plane, controlling pitch and vertical velocity; forward velocity can also be determined, anywhere between 0 and 2 m/s. MARES can easily integrate any new payload within reason, finding applications in a wide range of areas, such as pollution monitoring, scientific data collection, sonar mapping, underwater video or mine countermeasures.

Autonomous Sailboat

“…AUVs constitute powerful and effective tools for underwater data gathering and there is a large number of operational systems, in various sizes and configurations, covering commercial, military or scientific applications [7][8] [9]. These vehicles operate with no physical link with the surface, carrying a set of relevant sensors to characterize the underwater environment.…”

Environmental Monitoring System by Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

“…The underwater vehicles presented in [26] and [27] can dive up to 100m deep to monitor pollution, collect data, and capture video. Other efforts such NIMS system has been presented in [28].…”

Europe and the Future for WPT : European Contributions to Wireless Power Transfer Technology

“…Therefore, there is a need for an energy solution that can support the operation of a number of AUVs within underwater environments for long periods of time. Currently available AUV recharging solutions are very complex, typically requiring "wet mate" connectors [74], which are prone to failure and require frequent maintenance and/or too complex docking mechanisms. As such, these solutions are not appropriate for scaling-up due to the high costs, and therefore their usage has been limited.…”