An Innovative Pose Control Mechanism for a Small Rudderless Underwater Vehicle

Current and conventional pose (position and orientation) control of a small underwater vehicle is achieved by using rudders (yaw motion control) and elevators (pitch motion control), but these suffer from non-linear, indirect and complex control issues. This paper proposes an innovative pose control mechanism for small underwater vehicles. The mass shifter mechanism is designed and fabricated to control pitch and yaw motion with a single propeller only. The center of mass of the underwater vehicle is altered by moving a pair of counterweights on fixed tracks. The pitch and yaw are achieved by controlling the position of the counterweight pairs. The proposed system is designed, fabricated and tested in a real underwater environment for proof-of-concept. The result shows a simpler, more efficient and more effective pose control mechanism than conventional technology.