Analyzing the operating efficiency of autonomous water vehicles

Power consumption is a huge limitation in the application of autonomous vehicles, making the need for efficient processes more important. A greater operating efficiency could extend the capabilities of missions by consuming less power and energy. This thesis analyzed the operating efficiency of a small, autonomous water craft. The results of the study showed that the most efficient operating condition is to run the vehicle at the bare minimum to require movement. Less current is drawn from the battery to rotate the propellers and a greater proportional thrust return when compared to the work requirements. It was not possible to measure all of the operating conditions due to the limitations of the device themselves.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Fraser, Michael B. (Michael Brent)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Henrik Schmidt.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/68838

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/68838