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Small Autonomous Underwater vehicle -
Maya
A significant step in developing a small AUV
called MAYA was undertaken by a team of scientists
and a group of young Project Assistants in the
Marine Instrumentation Division of the National
Institute of Oceanography, Goa. The project
was funded by The Department of Information Technology
of the Ministry of Communications and Information
Technology, New Delhi. In addition, cooperative work
was also carried out under the scope of the Indo-Portuguese
Cooperation Programme in S&T with the ISR
IST Lisbon, Portugal funded through an exchange
visit program by the Dept. of Science & Technology,
New Delhi.
AUVs
Autonomous underwater vehicles are basically
robots to acquire in-situ oceanographic data with
minimum disturbance to the parameter under measurement.
These robots are equipped to reach difficult locations
and achieve the mission tasks independent of the
mother vessel. Effectively AUVs enhance the research
vessels capability to spatially sample the
ocean in three dimensions.
The small AUV – MAYA
MAYA – the small AUV has been designed
and tested to address the above scientific needs.
An Aluminum mono cock body with end caps houses
the electronics, batteries and vehicle payloads.
It uses a single thruster for propulsion and all
maneuvering and controls are achieved by means
of two fins and a rudder at the aft. Detachable
nose cones house the scientific sensors. This
modularity enhances MAYA capabilities to collect
data on different parameters by changing the nose
cones with appropriate sensors. Built in hardware
and software safety features ensure recovery of
MAYA on any malfunctioning.
MAYA’s navigation in 3D is a combination
of vehicle payload data and controls designed
and implemented on a mission controller. GPS sensor
on surface provides the initial reference point
while Doppler Velocity Log, AHRS and a pressure
sensor are used for dead reckoning underwater.
A UHF communication link ensures constant contact when
MAYA is on surface.
Click on the following links for further detailed
information
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