Design principle of a biomimetic underwater robot U-CAT

This paper presents a design rationale and describes the design of a biomimetic underwater robot U-CAT. U-CAT is an autonomous, small-size and low cost vehicle, currently under development, for shipwreck penetration. The robot will assist archaeologists during possibly dangerous and expensive shipwreck exploration missions. It reduces the need of using divers, while being able to go to places that remain unreachable for ROVs. U-CAT uses a novel 4-fin actuation that gives the vehicle high maneuverability for operating in complex environments with walls, ropes, nets and other obstacles. The use of fins also allows more quiet motion with respect to the traditional propellers. Fins beat up less sediment from the bottom and the walls, and thus maintain higher visibility for recording a video. The U-CAT will be also equipped with sensors specifically customized for shipwreck exploration tasks.