Development of a modular docking sub-system for 12" class autonomous underwater vehicles

This work reports on the progress of our current docking design for the 12 3/4 inch class autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to be built by Bluefin Robotics Inc. While there are existing docking systems demonstrated during a limited number of at-sea trials, and shown to have limited success as "proof of concept" research prototypes, the main objective of this docking design project is to design and build a docking system that is rugged and operable over a long duration. That means, cycle stress, corrosion, and bio fouling growth will be considered in the overall design. In This work, different design options will be presented and compared, followed by our docking design concept which combines the best features of all the existing options.