Development of a hardware in the loop rig for an autonomous underwater glider from a product development standpoint

Sammanfattning

This thesis presents the design and implementation of hardware in the loop (HIL)rig developed for the autonomous underwater glider (AUG) SeaGul. The rig simulatesreal dives by reading and responding to the actual hardware output of SeaGulwith the use of load cells. During these simulated dives load cell data are sent tothe simulation that calculates depth, distance, amount of water displaced, centreof gravity (CoG), pitch, and roll. Data calculated during the simulated dives arecompared with results from real world dives. By analysing pitch and depth readingsalong with estimated timing between samples, the system approximates the glider’sspeed and distance covered in each dive phase. Providing a simplified simulationthat can also get hardware responses in specific circumstances and edge cases. Inaddition, this work investigates the potential of HIL rigs as effective tools for thedevelopment and testing of AUG.The results show that the HIL rig can find the CoG which is useful when ballastingSeaGul. It can also replicate core dive behaviours, such as response at depth, surfacing,and orientation changes. Furthermore, can the HIL rig consistently provideapproximate estimations of dive speed, acceleration, pitch, roll, depth, and distancetravelled but with limited precision. This highlights both the utility of the systemand the need for improved simulation.Despite sensitivity to disturbances and limitations due to incomplete real dive data,the HIL rig functions as intended, and all hardware components operate reliably.This demonstrates that the HIL rig is a valuable development and testing platformfor SeaGul and potentially other AUG’s. Supporting key behaviour insights, CoGcalibration, and the ability to evaluate hardware responses under controlled edgecase scenarios.