Hardware architecture for a modular autonomous underwater vehicle STARFISH

The use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in various research, commercial and military applications has significantly increased in the recent years. Most AUVs available commercially tend to be complex and very expensive. With advances in recent technology, sensors with new functionality or lower cost substitutes have become available. Most existing AUV platforms do not facilitate easy integration of new or upgraded sensors. A solution to this problem is to have a modular AUV system with changeable payload sections capable of carrying different sensor to suite different missions. Modular AUVs are exceptionally useful in group mission scenarios with different AUVs carrying different sensor payloads. By having a team of modular AUVs, payloads can be easily interchanged between the AUVs to configure the team for various missions. Modular AUVs require their sections to be electrically and mechanically compatible with one another. In this paper we describe the detailed architecture of the electronics system for STARFISH AUV. The benefits of modular hardware and its advantages in developing and integrating newer sensor payloads with the base AUV are shown. The modular electronics system for STARFISH AUV has been implemented and currently being tested.