A Modular, Compact, and Efficient Next Generation REMUS 600 AUV

In 2014, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution started a major design effort to miniaturize the main control electronics used on REMUS 600 AUVs. Our design goals included decreasing vehicle cost and component size, improving the already reconfigurable nature of the vehicle, and increasing base vehicle capability and efficiency. A new vehicle controller, the Vehicle Core Board, has been developed which reduces controller size, weight, and power requirements, improving AUV system endurance and modularity. The reduced size allows the control system to be completely housed in the AUV tail, improving system modularity and freeing up space for payload and energy modules. These systems have demonstrated as much as 40% hotel power reduction, 40% chassis weight reduction, and 70% chassis volume reduction on the Next Generation REMUS 600 system compared to legacy REMUS 600 systems. A new Guest Port Expansion chassis allows for standard payloads to be easily swapped without any internal wiring changes.