Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review
    Vol. 58 No. 1 (2021)   New Products & Technologies
    Technical Papers

    Low-speed, Low-altitude AUV Control

    KAZUKI EGUCHI
    YUSUKE YASHIRO
    SHUSAKU YASUDA
    ICHIRO AWAYA
    TAKEHIRO ADACHI
    YOSHIAKI YAMAUCHI

    An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is an unmanned, self-driving submersible mainly used for exploration of offshore resources and defense purposes. Global demand for AUVs is projected to increase by about 37% between 2018 and 2022. In recent years, there has been increasing demand for low-speed operations at low altitudes. Technology enabling the stable control of the vehicles under a tidal environment is required to make such operations possible.