AUV design – shape, drag and practical issues

Twenty years ago, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) were an infant technology and there was an absence of evolution to guide designers in deciding the fundamental shape and size of their craft. Since this period there have been a wide variety of AUV shapes and sizes tried, these include torpedo shapes, (e.g. Autosub, Remus), laminar flow bodies (early Hugin vehicles), streamlined rectangular styles (e.g. Maridan), and multi hull vehicles, (ABE). Each came with a vision of fulfilling a certain set of requirements and oceanographic niche.