The Challenge

Standard underwater vehicles often require 4 to 6 fixed thrusters to achieve omnidirectional movement, increasing weight, power consumption, and drag. The goal was to develop a streamlined training and research platform that maintained full agility without the hardware bloat.

The Engineering Solution

We designed a Hybrid Vector-Thrust System. Instead of adding more motors, we engineered a mechanical rotation system for the two main thrusters.

  • Vectorizable Thrust: The thrusters rotate perpendicular to the propeller orientation, allowing the vehicle to direct force instantly in any direction.
  • Efficiency: By using only 2 thrusters effectively, we drastically reduced the power footprint while retaining the ability to follow complex 3D trajectories.
  • Hybrid Operation: The architecture supports both autonomous missions (pre-programmed path following) and manual ROV control for inspection tasks.

Technical Scope:

  • Mechanical Design: Full electromechanical assembly and watertight enclosure design using SolidWorks.
  • Simulation: Hydrodynamic efficiency and vector logic validated in MATLAB/Simulink.
  • Control Logic: Implementation of non-linear control algorithms (Fuzzy Logic) to manage the vector transition stability.