A COMPUTATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR SIMULATION OF UNDERWATER ROBOTIC VEHICLE SYSTEMS

This paper presents a computational framework for efficiently simulati ng the dynamics and hydrodynamics of Underwater Robotic Vehicle (URV) systems. Through the use of object-oriented mechanisms, a very general yet efficient version of the Articulated-Body (AB) algorithm has been implemented. An efficient solution se to branching within chains is d eveloped in the paper so that the algorithm can be used to compute the dynamics for the entire class of open-chain, tree-structured mechanis ms. By including compliant contacts with the environment, most closed- chain systems can also be modeled. URV systems with an extended set of topologies can be simulated including proposed underwater walking mac hines with intra-body powered articulations. Using the encapsulation i nherent in C++, the hydrodynamics code has been confined to a single c lass, thereby explicitly defining this framework and providing an envi ronment for readily implementing desired hydrodynamics algorithms. Res ulting simulations are very efficient and can be used in a number of a pplications both in the development and use of URV systems.