Optimization of an Unmanned Aerial and Submersible System Capable of Flight and Underwater Navigation with Seamless Air Water Transition

A platform has been developed for an unmanned aerial and submersible system that it is capable of operating in air and underwater with seamless transition between both mediums. These unique capabilities combined with the hovering, high maneuverability and reliability of multirotor vehicles, results in a disruptive technology that could potentially extend operations, provide rapid response and add new capabilities in the ocean battlespace environment. For instance, some suggested applications in the battle field for this new platform could include launch and recovery from a submarine, rapid response to investigate a threat or a region of interest, delivering payloads to divers, rapid deployment of explosives to eliminate mines, smart/self-deploying buoy sensors (i.e.: hydrophones), ships/ports inspections, or even stealth missions that require an aircraft to be nearby but easily concealed (i.e.: underwater). While some of the unique capabilities of this novel platform have already been demonstrated from our flight demos of the built prototype 'NV1-Naviator' which operates in air and underwater with seamless transition, much work still remains to be done. This proposal is proposing to further develop the capabilities of the Naviator using a two-pronged approach: (1) optimizing and increasing the robustness of these demonstrated underwater control abilities; and (2) increasing the platform capabilities by adding navigation and communication sensors (system currently manually remote-controlled).