Design, modelling and simulation of an autonomous underwater vehicle

This paper describes the design and modelling of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), together with a simulation system for AUVs with arbitrary propulsion and sensor systems. The use of a simulation system allows to rapidly test AUV designs, e.g. different propulsion systems or different sensor configurations. Different AUV designs can be compared with their suitability for a given task before they even have been built. Therefore, the use of a simulation system can advance and speed up the design process of an AUV.