A REPORT

ON

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles – classification and

commercial aspects with special focus on MAYA
BY

ID NO. Name of Student

1. 2004A8PS068 Utpal Mahanta

2. 2004A6PS581 Jaspreet Kaur

3. 2004P8PS003 Dhamankar Manish Suhas

At

National Institute of Oceanography

A Practice School – I Station of

BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE

July, 2006

1
 A REPORT

ON

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles – classification and

commercial aspects with special focus on MAYA
BY

ID No./Name(s)/Discipline(s) of the Students:

1. 2004P8PS003 Dhamankar Manish Suhas BE (Hons.) Electronics and

Instrumentation

2. 2004A6PS581 Jaspreet Kaur Master Of Management Studies

3. 2004A8PS068 Utpal Mahanta BE (Hons.) Electronics and Instrumentation

Prepared in the partial fulfillment of the

Practice School – I Course

AT

National Institute of Oceanography

A Practice School – I Station of

BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE

July 2006

2
 Acknowledgements

We are greatly indebted to Dr. S. Shetye, Director, National Institute of Oceanography

(NIO), Goa, India for giving us the chance carry out our Practice School – I program here
at NIO.
We would also like to thank Dr. L. K. Maheshwari, Director and Pro-Vice Chancellor,
BITS-Pilani for providing us with the platform of Practice School – I and for facilitating
our precious exposure to NIO.
We would like to thank our project instructor, Mr. Sanjeev Afzulpurkar, scientist in the
Geological Oceanographic Department, NIO for his priceless advice and guidance
throughout the course of the project. He was there to help us out, whenever we found
ourselves amidst some difficulty. Thank you Sir.
Also we are grateful to Dr. Virupaxa K. Banakar for coordinating our work from time to
time and most of all, for appointing us under such a relevant and interesting project.
Also, we take this opportunity to thank our instructor Dr. Raghunath Behera who was
always there to guide us and share his experience and give us vital tips.
We would also like to thank all the employees of NIO who directly or indirectly
contributed in the completion of this project

3
 BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE

PILANI (RAJASTHAN)

Practice School Division

Station: National Institute of Oceanography Centre: Goa

Duration: 53 days Date of Start: 24th May 2006

Date of submission: 11th July 2006

Title of the Project: “Autonomous Underwater Vehicles-classification and

commercial aspects with special focus on MAYA”

ID No./Name(s)/Discipline(s) of the Students:

1. 2004P8PS003 Dhamankar Manish Suhas BE(Hons.) Electronics and

Instrumentation

2. 2004A6PS581 Jaspreet Kaur Master Of Management Studies

3. 2004A8PS068 Utpal Mahanta BE(Hons.) Electronics and Instrumentation

Name of the PS faculty: Dr. Raghunath Behera

Name Of the supervisor: Mr. Sanjeev Afzulpurkar

4
 ABSTRACT

The aim of the report is to scrutinize the various types of AUVs of the world, to classify
these on the basis of design specifications and to examine the worldwide applications of
AUVs. The report also covers the comparison of MAYA (AUV designed by NIO,
INDIA) with other AUVs and last section of report emphasizes on the commercial
aspects of AUVs.

Signature(s) of the Student(s) Signature of the PS faculty

Date: Date:

5
 Table of Contents

Topic Page No.

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………. 6
1. What is AUV?................................................................................................ 8
2. Design Specifications………………………………………………………. 9
2.1 The Head section…………………………………………………... 10
2.2 The Mid section……………………………………………………. 10
2.3 The Tail section……………………………………………………. 11
3. Classification……………………………………………………………….. 11
3.1 Size (Length)………………………………………………………. 14
3.2 Depth………………………………………………………………. 15
3.3 Endurance………………………………………………………….. 16
3.4 Average Speed…………………………………………………….. 17
4. Applications of AUV………………………………………………………. 18
4.1 Offshore surveys…………………………………………………... 18
4.1.1 Oil and Natural gas………………………………………. 18
4.1.2 Telecommunications……………………………………….. 19
4.1.3 Minerals and Mining……………………………………….. 19
4.2 Military Applications…………………………………………………. 19
4.2.1 Defensive Role …………………………………………….. 20
4.2.2 Offensive Role……………………………………………... 21
4.3 Scientific Uses………………………………………………………... 22
5. What is the Market?..................................................................................... 23
5.1 Commercial……………………………………………………….. 23
5.2 Scientific…………………………………………………………... 24
5.3 Military……………………………………………………………. 24
5.4 Presently operating AUVs………………………………………… 25
5.4.1 Maridan…………………………………………………. 25
5.4.2 Hugin……………………………………………………. 26
5.4.3 Aqua Explorer…………………………………………... 27
5.4.4 The other commercial players…………………………... 27
6. Cost comparison of MAYA with other AUVs…………………………... 28
7. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………. 31
Figures List…………………………………………………………………... 32
Tables List……………………………………………………………………. 33
References……………………………………………………………………. 34
Appendix……………………………………………………………………... 35

6
 INTRODUCTION

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) have kept researchers occupied since the
early 60‘s. But in the last decade this field has gained lot of importance and has been on
the top of most developed countries‘ research project lists. This has been mainly due to
the increased need for underwater applications and the cost effective means for these
operations provided by AUVs.

In this report we have studied the various AUVs, commercial as well as those undergoing
development (for e.g. MAYA); that have been developed in the recent past, and have
analyzed them on the basis of various criteria. Finally we have also studied the potential
market for AUVs and the avenues for commercializing them.

We have started our report with a brief introduction of AUVs, their concept, history and
principle. One of the main aspects of our project was to study the various AUVs and
classify them. The problem here was to set aside some concrete criteria for classification.
For simplicity therefore, in design specifications we have explained the basic parts of an
AUV, construction and components in various parts.

After laying the basic foundation of the project we commence with the first of our two
tasks- to classify the AUVs on the basis of criteria like size, depth rating, endurance,
speed and the like. The main problem faced here was data collection. There are so many
AUVs being developed in the world, it is impracticable to account for each one. For
convenience, we short-listed, some of the more established and commercially available
AUVs for our survey. Initially data was collected from magazines like Sea Technology
etc. and the minute details were then collected from the Internet. We have also attempted
a brief yet not comprehensive classification on the type of power supply used. One
question that may arise is why we haven‘t considered payload as a criterion. It was
unanimously decided to drop that idea because the payload for the same AUV can be
differed according to the needs of the customer.

Once a database of the various AUVs under different categories was ready, we listed
some of the tried and tested as well as proposed applications of these sea robots, as they

7
are also called. It should be noted that time and again the focus has been on MAYA and
special analysis has been done for our own AUV under each chapter.

Then we moved on to the more challenging tasks of analyzing the potential market for
AUVs. Since this technology has not yet been used commercially in India, our statistics
and figures are mostly of the AUVs used by the developed countries. Yet we managed to
conduct a break-even analysis of the operational cost of MARIDAN600 and MAYA
based on the proposed figured for MAYA. And the results although not accurate, are
quite encouraging. It would be worth mentioning here that we tried contacting the
MARIDAN website for more details but they were unavailable for comment. This report
will greatly help someone who wants to decide upon the viability of a particular AUV for
given operational conditions.

8
 1. What is AUV?
AUV stands for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle. They can be defined as free-
swimming marine robots used as mobile platforms to collect data and explore the ocean
on programmed mission tracks. The term UUV or Untethered Underwater Vehicle is also
used. In the past 30 years, nearly 200 AUVs have been built. Most of these systems have
been experimental. However, they have achieved impressive results and this record of
success is creating a demand for their use in operational settings.

The AUV‘s purpose is to carry a payload. The specific composition of the payload will
be determined by the mission of the vehicle but can include instrumentation to measure
ocean water characteristics, map the seabed or inspect subsea installations such as
pipelines. In addition to gathering data, AUVs can be used to lay underwater cable or to
deliver equipment to remote destinations.

The AUV resembles a torpedo in many respects (see Fig. 1). It contains a propulsion
Figure1.The torpedo
shape of an AUV
system consisting of one or two thrusters, control surfaces,
which act like wings to control the vehicle‘s attitude, a
pressure hull to contain electronics and power, and a
streamlined fairing to reduce hydrodynamic drag. The
vehicle is self-sufficient. This means that it carries its own
energy source and is programmed with a set of instructions
that enable it to carry out an underwater mission without
assistance from an operator on the surface. Included in
these instructions is information necessary for guidance and
navigation between pre-determined geographic positions,
procedures to avoid obstacles, and actions to be taken in
case of equipment breakdown. Procedures for the operation
of the payload devices are also provided.

But AUVs shouldn‘t be confused with submersibles and remotely operated

vehicles(ROV). The submersible is a small submarine. Unlike the AUV, it has a crew to
operate it and it usually carries one or two observers who fulfill mission tasks. It is self
sufficient, and carries its own energy source as well as the life support equipment for the

9
crew. Like the AUV, the ROV is unmanned but a cable links it to a remote control
console on the surface. Both electric power and control commands are sent down this
cable (sometimes called an umbilical), and data from the vehicle‘s television cameras and
sonars is sent up the cable. As compared to ROVs and submersibles, AUVs are moderate
in cost because they do not require any tethers or cables and any life support system as in
submersibles.

2. Design Specifications
The AUV has to bear intense pressure underwater; and the pressure to which the AUV is
subjected is directly proportional to depth. At 300 metres below the surface, the pressure
about 30 times atmospheric pressure. At 5000 metres, the pressure increases to over 490
atmospheres or 3.6 tons per square inch.

Hence in all AUVs, some form of pressure hull must be provided for equipment that
needs to work in a dry, atmospheric environment. This pressure hull must be weight-
efficient and it must also contribute to the design of a vehicle hull form that is low drag.
Packaging must also be considered. Internal items must be accessible, maintainable, and
arranged so that the payload sensor operation is not compromised. Additionally, the
internal distribution of the various subsystems must leave the vehicle in proper trim.

Till depths of about 200m, the pressure hull can be made of lighter materials like
Aluminum; but as we go deeper tougher materials like Titanium are needed. In case of
MAYA the depth rating is about 200m. Hence it is made of Aluminum.

The following is a near estimate of how an AUV looks like (Fig. 2):

Figure2.Basic design of an AUV

showing the nose, mid and tail
sections

10
As seen in the figure an AUV can be broadly divided into the following parts: Head
section, Mid section, Tail section.
2.1. The Head Section

The head section generally contains the mission specific replaceable sensors like the CTD
(Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth), Chlorophyll sensors, Oxygen sensors, etc.
These are used for various scientific and commercial purposes.

It also contains a SONAR obstacle avoidance system for navigation.

2.2. The Mid Section.

The Mid Section generally contains the Main Vehicle Computer (MVC), which controls
the various AUV functions; the Doppler Velocity Log (DVL) which gives the speed and
acceleration of the AUV; a Global Positioning System (GPS), which fixes the position of
the AUV ; a Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) used to detect altitude, location, and
motion and the Battery which is the power source for the AUV .

An ideal battery should have a high power density, long life, low cost, low maintenance,
high efficiency, and should have a wide operating temperature, It should have be
recyclable and the electrolyte should be spill proof independent of temperature. There are
various Battery sources available in the market that may be used by an AUV.

Sealed Lead Acid batteries are generally used for short missions.

Silver-Zinc batteries are also used by various AUVs. For example: Odyssey 2b.However
these batteries require high maintenance cost high and have a limited life.

Ni-Cd batteries, which are used by Florida Atlantic University. However they are about
ten times costlier. Moreover the charging is exothermic in this case. Therefore there
should be careful thermal management, careful disposal of toxic waste, etc.

Various Li polymer based batteries are also available in the market. They are highly
popular because of their high power capability despite their small size and weight. They

11
are also resistant to shock and vibration. For example: The Autonomous Benthic Explorer
and Urashima use Li ion based batteries.

MAYA the AUV developed by NIO (National Institute of Oceanography) uses a Lithium
polymer based battery.

Besides these there are also Zebra batteries (liquid Sodium as anode and chloride of
transition metals as cathodes), Sodium-Sulphur, Ni-metal hydride, based batteries
available in the market.

The mid section also contains the side scan sonar, which is used for various survey
purposes.

2.3 The Tail Section

The tail section generally contains a pressure sensor, which gives the depth of the AUV.
It also contains an Ethernet link during shallow water operations for real-time data
transfer.

Besides these the AUV has microprocessor controlled fins and rudder for sideways and
upward movement respectively.

3. Classification
The areas of applications of an AUV depends on various specifications like Length,
Depth rating, Endurance, Average speed etc.

The size of an AUV determines the maneuverability of an AUV and also the manpower
needed to operate the AUV and hence the cost of operation. Accordingly we can select
different AUVs according to our specific needs. At the same time maneuverability is
largely governed by the total response time of the navigation system.

Some AUVs are meant for shallow water operations. Hence if we are to select the right
AUV for our operation we should know the depth at which we are functioning and the
type of region we intend to operate it in and also the type of application.

12
Endurance is also a factor, which should be taken into consideration in selecting an AUV
for our particular operation. Long missions require AUVs with greater endurance.
Endurance can be hence increased for a given power source by avoiding power wastages

Speed is also a criterion for selecting an AUV .The speed of an AUV determines the
speed of the survey and hence the speed of data collection. The speed of an AUV also
greatly influences the cost of the entire operation, as we will see later. Hence speed is an
important criterion for selecting an AUV. It should be noted here that speed of data
collection is also a function of the quality and speed of the sensor.

Hence it is seen that a proper classification will greatly help the cause of selecting the
right AUV for our operation.

The following is a table of different AUVs and their design specifications

13
. Table 1. The specifications of various AUVs.

VEHICLE Length Max depth Average Endurance/ Ref.

Speed Range
Autosub-2 6.8m 1600m 1.35m/sec 40 hrs www.sciencemag
.org
CETUS 1.8m AlPressure 1.25m/sec 40kms Auvlab.mit.edu
Vessels
200m, Ti
PV>4000m
URASHIMA 10m 3500m 1.5m/sec 300kms www.jamstec.go.
jp
ARCS 6.4m 304.8m 2.0m/sec 36kms(single www.ise.bc.ca
Ni-Cd)
72kms(double
NiCd)
235kms(Al-
Oxy. Fuel

Cell)

ODYSSEY 1 2.15m 6000m 0.5-1.5 8hrs Auvlab.mit.edu

m/sec
DORADO 425cms 4500m 1.5m/sec 10hrs www.mbari.org
ARIES 300cms 100m 0.5m/sec 4hrs www.mbari.org
PTER0A150 2000m 1.5m/sec 40min Underwater. is-u
-Tokyo.ac.jp
PTER0A250 4000m 2.0m/sec 100min Underwater. is-u
-Tokyo.ac.jp
ALBAC 140cms 300m 0.75m/sec Underwater. is-u
-Tokyo.ac.jp
Xanthos 2.2m 3000m 1.0m/sec 4hrs/22kms Auvlab.mit.edu
ODYSSEY 2.2m 6000m 5km/hr 12hrs Auvlab.mit.edu
2B
REMUS 100 1.6m 100m 1.5m/sec 8hrs www.hydroidinc.
com
REMUS 600 3.25m 600m 2.6m/sec 7hrs www.hydroidinc.
com

14
VEHICLE Length Max. Average Endurance/ Ref.
Depth Speed Range
REMUS 3.84m 6000m Upto 22hrs www.hydroidinc.com
6000 2.6m/sec
HUGIN I
HUGIN 3.85- 1000m 1-3m/sec 21-27hrs www.cctechnol.com
1000 5m
HUGIN 5.3m 3000m 2.0m/sec 40hrs Sea Technology Dec. 2000
3000
Maridan 600 4.5m 600m

MAYA 1.8m 200m 1.5m/sec 4-6hrs www.nio.org

THESEUS 10.7m 1000m 2.0m/sec >780km www.ise.bc.ca/theseus.htm

From the above table it can be seen that we can classify AUVs on the basis of the
following specifications:

3.1. SIZE (LENGTH)

Table2.The lengthwise classification of various AUVs

Less than 2m 2-5m Greater than 5m

Maneuver- Due it is small size It is of medium size and Due to its large size it
Ability , it can be used in can be used where cannot avoid cannot be used
confined areas. maneuverability in condensed areas where
requirements are not that many obstacles are present.
high.

Manpower Requires less Requires more manpower Requires lot of manpower

Required manpower for for deployment. Tethers and equipment for
deployment and are used sometimes. deployment.
Generally deployed by
hand.

Examples CETUS,DORADO, ALIVE,ODYSSEY Autosub-

ARIES,ALBAC 1,ODYSSEY 2,ARCS,URASHIMA
2B,Xanthos,Maridan 600

15
Maya having a length of 1.8m is designed to venture confined regions and requires only
two persons for deployment.

However, size is not the only criteria of maneuverability. It also depends on the response
time of navigation system, the quality of the obstacle avoidance system, speed and
processor speed, etc.

3.2. DEPTH
Table3: The depth wise classification of different AUVs

Less than 600m 600-2000m Greater than 2000m

Uses Generally they are used in They are in They are generally used for deep
costal and shallow waters waters of depth sea research in waters as deep as
for scientific monitoring 600-2000 for 6000m
and in Oil and Gas scientific as well
pipeline laying. They are commercial
also used for harbor purposes. They
monitoring are also used in
fishery surveys.

Examples MAYA,ARCS,ARIES Autosub-2,

ALBAC,OEX,REMUS PTER0A150, URASHIMA,ODYSSEY
100,REMUS 600, HUGIN 1,DORADO,
Maridan 600,MINI 1000,SLOCUM GAVIA,PTER0A250,Xanthos,RE
(FAU) MUS
6000,HUGIN3000,ODYSSEY2B,
CARIBO

The depth rating of an AUV will strongly influence its the size and range. To go deeper,
the pressure hull must be thicker and heavier, leaving less residual buoyancy to support
batteries or payload. To increase battery or payload capacity, the pressure hull can be
made larger so that it is more buoyant. However, the in-air weight increases as well.
Selecting a deep-rated design tends to reduce range or payload capacity, and to increase
16
size and weight. To maximize the battery capacity and range while carrying a given
payload, the shallowest depth rating possible for the mission should be chosen.

Maya can go to a depth of about 200m, which makes it ideal for shallow water
operations. One of its proposed uses has therefore been to study the corals off the cost of
Lakshdweep.

3.3. ENDURANCE

Endurance depends on power supply. Since most AUVs run on battery, power supply
itself depends on battery life. But battery life itself depends on the power consumption of
the AUVs. Higher speeds results in low battery life and hence less endurance. Moreover
small size means smaller battery and less endurance. Hence endurance depends on size as
well.

Research has been going on about solar powered AUVs that can stay in the water for
weeks. For example, if solar power is used for the propulsion of Slocum AUV its range
increases three to four times

Table4: The endurance wise classification of different AUVs.

Less than 2 2-10 hrs More than 10 hrs

hrs
Uses Used for short Used for medium range Used for longer missions like
missions missions. pipeline surveying, etc.

Examples PTER0A150, DORADO, ARIES HUGIN 3000,Autosub-2, ODYSSEY

PTER0A250 2B

Maya has an endurance of 6 hours, which makes it available for medium range missions.
For longer missions Maya has to be taken aboard each 6 hours to recharge its batteries.

17
3.4. AVERAGE SPEED

The average speed of all AUVs is between 0.5-2m/sec. It depends highly on the size, the
payload of the mission and type of battery used. Higher payload means lower speed.
Moreover there is an intricate relationship between endurance and speed. Higher speed
means lower battery life and less endurance and vice versa. So there is a optimum speed
to which an AUV can be pushed. Improvements in Batteries might result in higher AUV
speeds.

AUVs like PTER0A250, DORADO, and HUGIN 3000 fall in the higher speed region
with cruising speeds of nearly 2.0m/sec, while AUVs like ARIES, ALBAC etc fall in the
lower speed region with speeds of only 0.5-1.0m/sec.

Maya has a nominal speed of about 1.5 m/s. Increasing the speed of MAYA will increase
the survey speed and hence will reduce the cost of the entire mission.

4. Applications of AUV

AUV are or soon will be capable of performing many of the tasks traditionally associated
with ship work. The most obvious application for AUV operations is that most traditional
of ship-based science surveying. Equipped with multibeam echosounder, side scan sonar,
sub beam profiler the Auv is ultimate surveying tool

How the need aroused for AUV in offshore industry?

During later years of 1990s survey community investigate the possibility to solve some
problems of oil and gas industry by deploying AUVs. The impetus came from upstream
oil and gas operators where numbers of enlightened individuals were considering best
ways to approach surveying tasks in deepwater blocks than being explored in Gulf of
Mexico, West Africa and offshore South America.

18
4.1 Offshore Surveys

4.1.1 Oil and Natural Gas

The main driver for introducing the survey by AUV has been the oil and gas industry‘s
deep-water blocks off the America and Africa, where the costs associated with surveying
using traditional techniques appeared untenable. Auv offered the prospect of proper
surveys performed at cost comparable to surveys conducted in more shallow water. It is
anticipated that AUV will one day be a viable alternative for inshore survey and have
capability of going the places that are less accessible to or could endanger a traditional
survey launch operations for oil and gas industry, survey AUVs are suitable alternative
for:
 Geohazard/ clearance survey
 Rig site survey
 Acoustic inspection of pipelines
 Pipeline route surveys
 Construction site surveys

Where AUVs offer very tangible benefits is in pipeline route surveys, where the primary
sensors are multibeam echo sounder, side-scan sonar, sub bottom profiler. AUVs can
study and monitor environmental conditions, observe shallow water flows and measure
the strength of currents throughout water column. Can be used for environmental
protection detecting and observing protected benthic populations and other ocean floor
phenomenon.

The oil and gas industry has come to depend on visual observation for much of it‘s tasks
and will not readily change its ways. So, AUVs should be fabricated to cater to these
needs.

Figures 3.1(above) and 3.2(below):

The Ormen Lange field survey. Data
processed from EM 3000 on NUI
Explorer.

19
4.1.2 Telecommunications

AUV is particularly well suited to continental shelf operations where fielding a specialist
survey vessel to remote location can be expensive. AUVs can perform short cable
crossings and inter connector route surveys entirely autonomously, launched from a shore
facility. AUV performance competition in US has shown that some vehicles are
particularly good operating in these difficult, close to shore operations.

The other obvious use of AUV is cable layer, which has already been shown to be
feasible by ISE, whose Thesus vehicle laid some 175 km of fibre optic cable beneath the
polar ice.

4.1.3 Minerals and Mining

The De Beers company‘s acquisition of MARIDAN was just for purpose of search for
sea floor minerals. Augmenting their surface fleet with AUV capability has significantly
increased the amount of ground they can cover each day in their search for diamonds.
Auv is a logical tool for mapping e.g. manganese module fields. Questions on AUV
economics centered on speed, endurance, equipment, sensor packages, operational
configurations, efficiency of vehicle operations especially whether it was best to have one
multi-role or several single role vehicles.

4.2 Military Applications

In developing military AUVs the first stage involves careful consideration of roles that
AUVs will be required to play and their contribution to overall force effectiveness.

20
To realize the complex collation and dissemination of data across a modern battles space
requires an effective inter unit communications network and this network and its
robustness to battle conditions become a key factor in achieving war-fighting success.
AUVs represent entities that can act both as remote data gathering nodes and as agents
that can execute specific actions, including actions against other entities. So, military
roles AUVs can play can be either passive or defensive, active defensive, passive
offensive or active offensive, where passive roles are considered as those where the
AUVs does not specifically need to react to changes in sensing scenario. An important
aspect of military AUVs research over past 15 years has been the conduct of operations
analysis studies. On these missions variations to ascertain in which roles AUVs appear
likely to contribute most to overall war fighting effectiveness.

Reconnaissance from the sea:

The importance of reconnaissance and gathering of many types of intelligence

information by naval forces have remained critical aspects of successful warfare. An
ongoing recognition of Military worth of such information has meant that the execution
of Reconnaissance. Missions and gathering of tactical data have become more primary
focus for current and near term UUV developments at start of 21st century.

AUVs may be used for both offensive and defensive roles:

4.2.1 Defensive Role

 Detection, location and trail of enemy submarines within antisubmarine warfare

scenarios.
 The detection and identification of mines within own waters.
 Underwater and above water gathering of enemy system data that may be
exploitable by own forces.

Some of the first applications of military UUV have been Mine Counter Measures
(MCM) applications. Key to MCM is the ability to detect mines and mine like objects
with an extremely high probability of detection in environments that are fundamentally

21
very challenging for any sensor system. The low target strengths of modern mines and
the problems imposed by shallow water environment tend to mean that MCM sonars
need to be of sizes comparable to size of larger AUVs available at present. MCM
probably imposes the greatest requirement for UUV navigation accuracy since, in
addition to basic detection, accurate positioning of mine or mine like targets relative to
the AUV is required to aid in subsequent minefield mapping, mine avoidance and mine
relocation for disposal.

Characteristics of UUVs for military operations are that they are relatively small,
potentially hard to detect and potentially able to access areas that other craft would not be
able to do so safely.

4.2.2 Offensive Roles

AUVs can be used in offensive operations such as:

 Dispensing of weapon systems

 Acting as targeting aids for weapon systems deployed from other non force units
 Acting as active attack system using their own targeting systems, weapon launch
and weapons.

A typical example of first type of offensive role is where an UUVs might be used to
place mine charges at given seabed locations.

Another examples of second type of offensive role might be use of UUVs in target
detection, identification and illumination role. In this role the UUVs would attempt to
penetrate any enemy harbor, convoy a task force with the aim of detecting, classifying
and localizing a specific type of target of interest using its own sensor data. On achieving
this, target information would be sent to an own force unit capable of deploying missiles
or other weapon systems into target area. Once the weapon entered the target area, the
UUVs could be used to illuminate the correct target and thus potentially improve the
effectiveness of attack while reducing risk of counter attack on weapon launching unit.

22
 Figure 4: Hydroid’s military vehicle, which was
deployed extensively during Operation Iraqi
Freedom

4.3 Scientific Uses

AUVs can be of immense help to the scientific community. Presently they are being used
for monitoring the following things:

 Benthos ecology
 Long-term observations
 Under ice investigations
 Mapping of ocean floor topography
 Large area sampling
 Environmental monitoring

The benthic zone is the lowest level of a body of water, such as an ocean or a lake. It is
inhabited mostly by organisms that tolerate cool temperatures and low oxygen levels,
called benthos or benthic organisms.It is not always possible to send humans there . In
such cases an AUV can be of immense help in going close to the seabed and gather
images.

AUVs reveal slope instabilities and mud volcanoes. This information will allow us to
make an improved assessment of seabed and shallow geological conditions, leading to
better design parameters for pipeline routes or marine/civil strucures.

AUVs can be used for under ice investigations where it is not possible for human divers
to go. The Theseus AUV has been extensively used for these purposes. Theseus was

23
developed by the U.S. and Canadian Defence Establishments to lay long lengths of fiber-
optic cable under the Arctic ice pack.

AUVs are used for the real-time data collection in coastal waters and in coral reef
monitoring with cameras. AUVs can also be used for pollution detection and monitoring,
biomass survey and fishery operations.

5. What is the Market?

AUVs have long the subject of academic, military research but only entered regular
commercial operations in 2001, and only five or six units are presently operating.
Commercial acceptance of AUVs offshore is off to a fast start with the following vehicles
being sold or developed for commercial applications: Hugin (Norway), Maridan 600
(Denmark), AQUA EXPLORER 2 (Japan), Sea Oracle (U.S.), Explorer (Canada) and
CETUS II (U.S.). In addition, there are AUVs being used for military applications and
other small vehicles being produced by academic institutions.

5.1 Commercial

In the commercial sector, underwater survey in support of the oil and gas sector will
initially dominate the market. The offshore market for AUVs have been analyzed by
Douglas -Westwood Limited of U.K .The number of subsea installations such as drilling
wells and laying gas-pipelines had doubled between 1998 and 2004; the value of the
subsea market had increased from $4.9 billion in 1998 to $11.8 billion in 2004. They
envision two main groups of AUVs—a Survey AUV for data gathering and a Hybrid
AUV/ROV for subsea intervention. The survey systems would be used to survey drilling
sites and pipe routes, and they could also take in-situ soil measurements and measure
seabed currents along the pipeline route.

Another analysis by C&C Technologies showed that AUVs have numerous advantages
over deep-tow systems, which include:
(a) Faster line turns
(b) Faster survey speed
(c) Greater maneuverability
(d) Better data, cheaper and faster

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 (e) Reduced survey time

So, this summarizes that the total cost of a deepwater survey could be cut from $707k
using a deep-towed system to $291k using an AUV which is a whopping $416k (59%)
savings. The U.S. Navy prior to development of their 20,000 foot Advanced Unmanned
Search System (AUSS) also reached a similar conclusion. Analysis indicated an order of
magnitude reduction in full ocean depth survey time could be achieved if an AUV was
used.

According to the Douglas-Westwood studies, when AUVs met industry expectations,

sales reached 30 units by 2004 and they could account for 20% of unmanned undersea
vehicle (UUV) operations revenue. Whereas the ROV revenue had increase by about
63% from 2000 to 2005, AUV revenue was projected to be increased by 5,500% during
the same period.

5.2. Scientific

Because of limited resources and the necessity to launch from small boats or platforms,
the academic community must keep vehicles small and economical. Smaller vehicles
such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution‘s (WHOI) REMUS, MIT‘s Odyssey,
and Florida Atlantic University‘s new modular AUV Morpheus is showing that cost
effective missions can be performed. Small, inexpensive, mass produced AUVs that one
can afford to occasionally lose will be the catalyst that pushes operational AUVs from the
tens into the hundreds or thousands.

5.3 Military

On the military side of the equation, AUVs have been under development for decades,
and they are now reaching an operational status. Their initial fleet application will be for
mine hunting, which was also the case for fleet introduction of ROVs. However, in the
case of AUVs, they will operate from a submarine and not a surface ship. The U.S.
Navy‘s submarine launched AUV is the Long Term Mine Reconnaissance System
(LMRS), which was initially operated in 2003. The study, which looks ahead 50 years,
provides a roadmap for the Navy to use in integrating unmanned undersea vehicles
(UUVs) into the battle space of the future. Critical missions include Intelligence,

25
Surveillance, Reconnaissance, Mine Countermeasures, Tactical Oceanography,
Communications, Navigation, and Anti-Submarine Warfare.

5.4 Presently operating AUVs

5.4.1 Maridan

The AUVs developed by Maridan A/S, Denmark have had many recent successes. The
AUVs are an outgrowth of research originally carried out under the EU‘s MAST research
program. This began with the first prototype MARIUS (1991-1993) followed

Figure 5.1 The Maridan 600 AUV

by MARTIN (1994-1997). The vehicles, Figure 5.1, which completed over 1000 kms of
sea trials, have evolved into their first commercial vehicle, the MARIDAN 600. One of
the first successes for Maridan A/S was an underwater archaeology survey for the
National Museum of Denmark using the MARIDAN 150 during which the vehicle
located and mapped a sunken 12th century ship. The success of this survey was a
milestone for their commercial vehicle production. In 1999, the MARIDAN 200 AUV
carried out an autonomous survey off the cost of Nambia for De Beers Marine.

Recent announcements indicate that De Beers is planning to buy two MARIDAN 600
AUVs, which are capable of operating to 600-meter depths and will be used for diamond

26
mining surveys. MARIDAN-3500 a deep-water survey AUV was designed in 2001.
Unofficial costs for a MARIDAN vehicle range from $15K-$20K/day with ship, or you
can buy one for around $1.5M-$2.0M depending on depth and sensors.

5.4.2. HUGIN

Norway‘s Hugin AUV, Figure 5. 2, was developed and operated by Kongsberg Simrad in
partnership with Statoil, the Forsvarets Forskningsinstitutt (FFI – the Norwegian Defense
Establishment) and Norwegian Underwater Intervention (NUI). First demonstrated in
1992, the Hugin series of vehicles has performed over 100 missions, several of them
commercial pipeline route surveys in the Norwegian Sea. The Hugin vehicle is in routine
use by NUI. Most recently, the Hugin 3000 AUV, a third generation vehicle rated to
3,000 meters, has been purchased by C&C sector of the North Technologies, Inc. of
Lafayette, Louisiana, an international hydrographic surveying company.

Figure 5.2:The HUGIN AUV

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5.4.3. AQUA EXPLORER

Japan is also in the running in the area of offshore cable surveys. The Aqua Explorer line
of AUVs has been under development for nearly a decade by KDD R&D Laboratories.
Their latest version is the AQUA EXPLORER 2 (AE2), Figure 5.3, operated by Kokusai
Marine Engineering Corp. (KMARINE). The AE2, which recently completed a survey of
a buried cable in the Taiwan Strait that exceeded 400 km, is now available for hire in the
UK through an agreement between K-MARINE and Ocean scan Ltd.

Figure5.3 The AQUA EXPLORER

5.4.4 The Other Commercial Players

There are also other vehicles that have been developed and delivered commercially.
These vehicles cover size ranges from 3 to 30 feet long.

On the large-scale vehicle end, ISE has the ARCS and the Theseus vehicles and Perry
Technologies has the MUST. These vehicles have each performed some dramatic
operations including the deployment of fiber optic cables. In the case of Theseus, the
fiber optic cable was deployed under the polar ice.

Mid-size vehicles include those from the Institute of Marine Technology Problems
(IMTP), Russia. Based on their MT-88 AUV, the IMTP has built and delivered the CR-
28
01 and CR-01A in conjunction with the Shenyang Institute of Automation (SIA) and the
Chinese Academy of Science. They have also developed the OKPO AUV for Daewoo
Heavy Industry, Korea.

Smaller vehicles are commercially available such as the CETUS II from Lockheed
Martin. The CETUS II, the follow-on to the CETUS vehicle developed by the MIT AUV
lab for Lockheed Martin, is 33% smaller than the original and has a base price of $35K-
$45K. Three systems have been built to date for U.S. Navy organizations.

Another small size vehicle that has seen considerable success is the REMUS, which was
built by WHOI under Office of Naval Research (ONR) and National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, USA (NOAA) funding. The REMUS, with over ten sold by
WHOI, and it‘s understood another five are in production for the U.S. Navy, has a base
price in the $175K range.

6. Cost Comparison of MAYA with other AUVs

The following is a capital cost comparison of different AUVs with MAYA.

Vehicle Capital Cost (in Lakh Rs)

REMUS 100 79.5 Table5: Capital cost comparison of Maya with
Maridan 600 682.5 other AUVs
CETUS 15.9
MAYA 100(developing cost)

Of the above AUVs we have done a comparison of MAYA with Maridan.

The main criteria taken into consideration while doing the cost comparison are Capital
cost, operational costs/24 hours, speed. However there may be many other criteria on
which the value of the AUV may depend and hence our analysis may not be totally
correct.

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 Table6: Cost comparison of MAYA and Maridan 600

Capital cost Operational costs/24 hours Average Speed (m/s)

Maridan600 682.5 6.825 2.5
Maya 250* 0.15 1.5

All costs are in Lakhs (Rs.)

*The face value of the MAYA AUV is considered to be Rs. 250 lakhs
**The operational cost of the MAYA is about 0.15 lakhs/24 hours but since its speed
is about 1.6 times less than Maridan, Maya takes about Rs. 0.24 lakhs to complete the
same work that Maridan does in one day.
The division of cost is as follows:
Batteries- Rs. 10 lakhs/250 days
Manpower-Rs. 0.15*2 lakhs / month for 2 persons
Vessel – Rs. 0.08 lakhs /day for 250 days
This comes to around Rs. 0.15 lakhs /day
***The exchange rate is considered to be Rs. 45.5 per dollar.
****The cost determination is done for operations like pipe line survey in which the
speed of the AUV plays a role.
The market value of the Maridan AUV is about Rs. 682.5 lakhs. For Maya we have
considered a market value of Rs. 200 lakhs.
The manufacturing cost is about Rs. 100 lakhs. And a multibeam sonar costs around Rs.
100 lakhs. Hence the total cost comes to around Rs. 200 lakhs.
Therefore the net profit is:
Profit= Rs 250 lakhs – Manufacturing cost

So, there is a profit of Rs. 50 lakhs.

The formula used to find out the cost of operation of the Maridan Auv is
C= 682.5+6.825*X
Now, the cost of operation of MAYA to do the same amount of work is
C= 250+1.6*X*1.6
Where X=Number of Days

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In the case of MAYA the daily cost is multiplied with 1.6 because the speed of MAYA is
only 1.5 m/s and that of Maridan is 2.5 m/s. Hence the same work that is done by
Maridan in 1 day is done by Maya in 1.6 days.

The following is a graph showing the cost to time plot of both MAYA and Maridan.

Figure6: Graph showing cost comparison of MAYA and Maridan

9000
8000
7000
6000
5000 Maridan
4000 Maya
3000
2000
1000
0
0 365 730 1095

From the graph it is seen that the slope for MAYA is less than that of Maridan. Hence, as
the years progress the profit of MAYA will increase many fold as the time progresses.

For example: for a 730 day period the operational cost of the Maridan AUV will be about
Rs.5664.7 lakhs. MAYA in can do the same work about Rs.425.2 lakhs. Hence MAYA
provides the consumer with savings of about Rs.5239.5 lakhs in about 730 days of
operation.

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7. CONCLUSION

Due to their wide applications and cost effective survey capabilities, one thing is
ascertained that in the years to come more and more underwater operations would be
undertaken by AUVs.

But a lot needs to be done in this regard. Steps have to be taken to transfer more AUVs
from the laboratory to the assembly line. Today, an AUV operation is a multi-million
dollar affair. Hence, for the most part AUVs are still a ―great idea seeking commercial
markets‖. AUV technology can advance rapidly if increased government funding is
provided to build something other than a handful of multi-million dollar systems For the
cost of launching one space satellite, hundreds of AUVs could be launched into the
oceans on limited duration missions today.

Also the payload on the AUVs has to be focused in a particular application. To move
ahead, AUV developers need to fully understand the potential applications and produce
designs to meet clearly specific customer needs. Only then will this cutting edge
technology be used widely and effectively, when the demand increases, the cost price
will reduce. This will in turn, expand the potential market to the developing and not so
affluent countries.

MAYA is India‘s contribution to this field of research . The low cost AUV, which is in
its last developing stages, promises to be a very economic and efficient means for
performing underwater applications. If everything goes as planned, in the next year or
two we should be in a position to commercialize MAYA and cater to the needs of
possible users like oil companies, civil industry, pollution control boards etc . We could
also export this expertise to other developing countries. One thing is for sure, AUVs are
here to stay.

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 Figures List

Figure Topic Page

No. No.
1 The torpedo shape of an AUV 8
2 Basic design of an AUV showing the nose, mid and tail sections 9
3 The Ormen Lange field survey. Data processed from EM 3000 on 18
NUI Explorer.
4 Hydroid‘s military vehicle, which was deployed extensively 22
during Operation Iraqi Freedom
5 1. The Maridan 600 AUV 25
2. The HUGIN AUV 26
3. The AQUA EXPLORER 27
6 Graph showing cost comparison of MAYA and Maridan 30

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 Tables List

Table No. Topic Page No.

1 The specifications of various AUVs. 13
2 The size-wise classification of different AUVs. 14
3 The depth wise classification of different AUVs. 15
4 The endurance wise classification of different AUVs. 16
5 Capital cost comparison of Maya with other AUVs 28
6 Cost comparison of MAYA and Maridan 600 29

34
 References

1. http://www.ise.bc.ca/
2. Technology and Applications of AUV, Gwyn Griffith
3. AUV’S -- THE MATURITY OF THE TECHNOLOGY, Robert L. Wernli
4. AUV Commercialization – Who’s Leading the Pack?, Robert L. Wernli
5. www.nio.org
6. The Application of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Technology in
the Oil Industry – Vision and Experiences, David BINGHAM and Tony
DRAKE,
7. The World AUV and ROV report, Douglas Westwood Limited
8. Auvlab.mit.edu
9. www.sciencemag.org
10. Sea Technology and Ocean News and Technology

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Appendix

36
37
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38