Passive and active attitude stabilization for a tow-fish

High precision oceanographic sensing applications often require precisely regulated sensor platforms. The paper investigates the problem of stabilizing the longitudinal motion of a streamlined sensor platform, towed in a two stage arrangement, using servo-actuated tail fins and an internal moving mass actuator. The results suggest that, while tail fins can adequately regulate the attitude of such a platform at moderate speeds, a moving mass actuator can significantly improve disturbance rejection at lower speeds.