Raya: A Bio-Inspired AUV for Inspection and Intervention of Underwater Structures
This work presents a bio-inspired Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) concept called Raya that enables high manoeuvrability required for close-range inspection and intervention tasks, while fostering endurance for long-range operations by enabling efficient navigation. The AUV has an estimated termi...
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| Format: | Article |
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IEEE
2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10964251/ |
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| author | Pedro Pereira Renato Silva Joao V. Amorim Marques Raul Campilho Anibal Matos Andry Maykol Pinto |
| author_facet | Pedro Pereira Renato Silva Joao V. Amorim Marques Raul Campilho Anibal Matos Andry Maykol Pinto |
| author_sort | Pedro Pereira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This work presents a bio-inspired Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) concept called Raya that enables high manoeuvrability required for close-range inspection and intervention tasks, while fostering endurance for long-range operations by enabling efficient navigation. The AUV has an estimated terminal velocity of 0.82 m/s in an optimal environment, and a capacity to acquire visual data and sonar measurements in all directions. Raya was designed with the potential to incorporate an electric manipulator arm of 6 degrees of freedom (DoF) for free-floating underwater intervention. Smart and biologically inspired principles applied to morphology and a strategic thruster configuration assure that Raya is capable of manoeuvring in all 6 DoFs even when equipped with a manipulator with a 5 kg payload. Extensive experiments were conducted using simulation tools and real-life environments to validate Raya’s requirements and functionalities. The stresses and displacements of the rigid bodies were analysed using finite element analysis (FEA), and an estimation of the terminal forward velocity was achieved using a dynamic model. To assess the accuracy of the perception system, a reconstruction task took place in an indoor pool, resulting in a 3D reconstruction with average length, width, and depth errors below 1. 5%. The deployment of Raya in the ATLANTIS Coastal Testbed and Porto de Leixões allowed the validation of the propulsion system and the gathering of valuable 2D and 3D data, thus proving the suitability of the vehicle for operation and maintenance (O&M) activities of underwater structures. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-531e4e6e767a4ad3ac3a853d187e17cf |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2169-3536 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Access |
| spelling | doaj-art-531e4e6e767a4ad3ac3a853d187e17cf2025-08-20T03:13:47ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362025-01-0113712537127410.1109/ACCESS.2025.356050710964251Raya: A Bio-Inspired AUV for Inspection and Intervention of Underwater StructuresPedro Pereira0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1128-9108Renato Silva1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7009-9569Joao V. Amorim Marques2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4231-3200Raul Campilho3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4167-4434Anibal Matos4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9771-002XAndry Maykol Pinto5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2465-5813Faculdade de Engenharia, INESC TEC, Universidade do Porto, Porto, PortugalFaculdade de Engenharia, INESC TEC, Universidade do Porto, Porto, PortugalFaculdade de Engenharia, INESC TEC, Universidade do Porto, Porto, PortugalFaculdade de Engenharia, INEGI, Universidade do Porto, Porto, PortugalFaculdade de Engenharia, INESC TEC, Universidade do Porto, Porto, PortugalFaculdade de Engenharia, INESC TEC, Universidade do Porto, Porto, PortugalThis work presents a bio-inspired Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) concept called Raya that enables high manoeuvrability required for close-range inspection and intervention tasks, while fostering endurance for long-range operations by enabling efficient navigation. The AUV has an estimated terminal velocity of 0.82 m/s in an optimal environment, and a capacity to acquire visual data and sonar measurements in all directions. Raya was designed with the potential to incorporate an electric manipulator arm of 6 degrees of freedom (DoF) for free-floating underwater intervention. Smart and biologically inspired principles applied to morphology and a strategic thruster configuration assure that Raya is capable of manoeuvring in all 6 DoFs even when equipped with a manipulator with a 5 kg payload. Extensive experiments were conducted using simulation tools and real-life environments to validate Raya’s requirements and functionalities. The stresses and displacements of the rigid bodies were analysed using finite element analysis (FEA), and an estimation of the terminal forward velocity was achieved using a dynamic model. To assess the accuracy of the perception system, a reconstruction task took place in an indoor pool, resulting in a 3D reconstruction with average length, width, and depth errors below 1. 5%. The deployment of Raya in the ATLANTIS Coastal Testbed and Porto de Leixões allowed the validation of the propulsion system and the gathering of valuable 2D and 3D data, thus proving the suitability of the vehicle for operation and maintenance (O&M) activities of underwater structures.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10964251/AUVbio-inspiredoperations and maintenancedesignFEA |
| spellingShingle | Pedro Pereira Renato Silva Joao V. Amorim Marques Raul Campilho Anibal Matos Andry Maykol Pinto Raya: A Bio-Inspired AUV for Inspection and Intervention of Underwater Structures IEEE Access AUV bio-inspired operations and maintenance design FEA |
| title | Raya: A Bio-Inspired AUV for Inspection and Intervention of Underwater Structures |
| title_full | Raya: A Bio-Inspired AUV for Inspection and Intervention of Underwater Structures |
| title_fullStr | Raya: A Bio-Inspired AUV for Inspection and Intervention of Underwater Structures |
| title_full_unstemmed | Raya: A Bio-Inspired AUV for Inspection and Intervention of Underwater Structures |
| title_short | Raya: A Bio-Inspired AUV for Inspection and Intervention of Underwater Structures |
| title_sort | raya a bio inspired auv for inspection and intervention of underwater structures |
| topic | AUV bio-inspired operations and maintenance design FEA |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10964251/ |
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