Design of Disassembly-reassembly Type USV for Coral Reef Research

Researchers are conducting physical surveys by diving and swimming to study the effects of microplastics and global warming on coral reefs.The area, time, and water depth that can be investigated by diving are extremely limited.In addition, to collect microplastics, it is necessary to tow the nets, but chartering a ship is expensive.Therefore, the authors are developing a system that simultaneously operates a USV and a UUV to simultaneously observe the sea surface and underwater.In this paper, we conducted a conceptual design, carried out fluid force measurements, trajectory tracking experiments, and image recognition using AI, with the aim of realizing a lightweight USV that can be divided during transportation to coral reef areas and reassembled on site for operation.