Autonomous Underwater Helicopter‐HY‐1: Design and Field Trials of a Seabed Operational Vehicle

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have become indispensable tools for exploring marine environments. However, most AUVs lack the ability to perform operations directly on the seabed. To address this limitation, we have designed a specialized AUV for seabed operations: the autonomous underwater helicopter (AUH). The AUH‐HY‐1 is a seabed operational vehicle specifically designed for complex near‐seabed exploration tasks. It adopts a disc‐shaped configuration and incorporates an Acoustic‐Inertial‐Optical integrated positioning and navigation system. The vehicle is equipped with multiple detection sensors and operates on a software framework developed using MOOS‐IvP, which provides robust mission management and control. The AUH‐HY‐1 operates in two modes: the traditional AUV mode and the AUH mode, where it collaborates with a Subsea Docking Station (SDS) for long‐term resident operations. A docking control strategy with orientation constraints ensures precise and reliable docking of the AUH. The integration of sonar with a YOLO‐based recognition algorithm enhances the vehicle's target detection performance. Field trials conducted in controlled pool environments, lakes, and open sea settings have demonstrated the AUH‐HY‐1's operational reliability and task execution capabilities, including waypoint‐based path planning, accurate docking, and seabed detection. It can perform near‐seabed detection tasks at a height of approximately 3 to 5 meters above the seabed, with a maximum speed of around 3 knots. The vehicle achieved a notable docking success rate of over 85% and a sonar image detector MAP of 80.2% with an average processing speed of 0.025 s per image. These results indicate that the AUH‐HY‐1 is well suited for supporting seabed exploration and advancing applications in marine technology and oceanographic research.