Navy Develops Biology-Inspired AUV for Near-Shore Operations
Four side-mounted fins, two forward and two aft, provide all the propulsion and control for WANDA. Photo: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory have designed and developed a biology-inspired autonomous underwater vehicle that uses fins for propulsion and control in near-shore and littoral zone missions.
The Wrasse-inspired Agile Near-shore Deformable-fin Automation, or WANDA, AUV is designed to fill a gap in underwater inspection, surveillance, exploration and object detection for near-shore operations that require low speeds and high maneuverability.
“Expeditions in near-shore environments are complex, often proving turbid, cluttered with obstacles and plagued with dynamically changing currents,” says Jason Geder, aerospace engineer in NRL’s Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics Laboratories. “Inspired by the pectoral fins of the reef fish bird wrasse, NRL researchers have developed an actively controlled curvature robotic fin that provides scaled down AUVs a novel low-speed propulsion system.”
WANDA can travel faster than two knots and is capable of autonomous waypoint navigation.
“Computational and in-water experimental results have demonstrated WANDA’s capabilities,” says Geder. “WANDA can perform low-speed maneuvers to include forward and vertical translation and turn-in-place rotation, and we are currently evaluating station keeping in the presence of waves.”
The modular AUV will allow for easy integration of different mission-specific payloads, including a biochemical sensing system to detect trace levels of chemical signatures that will be tested later this year.
Potential applications for WANDA include harbor monitoring and protection, hull inspection, covert very shallow water operations and riverine operations, according to an NRL press release.
