Aerial Aquatics: Unmanned Deployment of Submersibles

The main objective of this research is to design, prove, and test the concept of a multi-locomotion capable platform fused aircraft and submersible. Both fixed and rotary winged aerial platforms equipped with a deployable submersible subsystem with a camera installed have been developed firstly and tested. The platform can land on water and take off from it and then maneuver. And then the subsystem could be deployed under the water for searching and monitoring. The submersible subsystem is tethered for video and image data transfer but has a separate power source in it and it can be deployed down to at least 50 feet. Also it has its own actuator for maneuvering under water and ultrasonic sensors for obstacle avoidance. This project has potentials for various applications such as inaccessible area surveillance and habitat monitoring which human or a single locomotion robot can do