Underwater gliders are among the most commonly used autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV’s) for underwater data collection, as they provide energy efficiency and robustness for extended missions. These same units do, however, have low velocity and maneuverability. A modification to a glider's mechanism is proposed which could be applied in scenarios where fast response is required, without disrupting the surrounding environment. This could include scenarios such as encountering and avoiding marine animals that are in the glider's path. The proposed solution addresses this issue by adding a soft actuator component that undulates like a fish's fin.
The soft actuator will allow the glider to make quick changes to its yaw position, path and acceleration. The chosen actuator is a modification of the Shape Deposition Manufacturing (SDM) fingers from the soft robotics toolkit website.