Imotus: An autonomous underwater resident vehicle for vertical profiling

A resident Hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (HAUV) platform, Imotus-V, is introduced for a novel approach to vertical profiling from seabed to surface. The system includes a vehicle and a subsea docking interface, which communicates directly to the shore. The HAUV provides complete six degrees of freedom motion capability while profiling the water column, and includes a large, customizable payload bay. The subsea docking interface includes a blue light modem and pinless inductive charger for transferring data and charging batteries in between missions. This docking infrastructure enables long-term, resident functionality for the system. Software architecture and navigation controls are presented. Upcoming missions for the test bed are detailed, including both confined space and open-water missions.