Towards Modular and Accessible AUV Systems

Abstract: This paper reports the development of a new open- access modular framework, called Marine Vehicle Packages (MVP), for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. The framework consists of both software and hardware designs allowing easy construction of AUV for research with increased customizability and sufficient payload capacity. This paper will present the scalable hardware system design and the modular software design architecture. New features, such as articulated thruster integra- tion and high-level Graphic User Interface will be discussed. Both simulation and field experiments results are shown to highlight the performance and compatibility of the MVP.