The Raia Hybrid Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Series is especially designed for research and
intervention. Being aware of the problematic of an international research project or the
difficulties of an off-shore mission, and knowing how important is to "get to the sea" as
easily (or often) as possible, the Raia ROV/AUVs are designed in order to be light and easy
to deploy-into/retrieve-from water. Raia series belongs to the emerging tendency in Unmanned
Underwater Vehicle (UUV): intervention AUVs.
Raia shape is not torpedo-like
as the typical survey AUV but has a more compact design, still not presenting an open-frame
structure as the typical ROV. It consists in one single pressure hull where all the sensors,
electronics, batteries, microcontrollers and main computer are sharing the same space.
The thrusters and steering motors, that are oil filled to compensate pressure, are placed
directly in the water, and are equipped with brushless motors in order to prolong the
maintenance cycle and increment reliability. The series is distinguished in two models which names represent their behavior. The Flyby model with its four thruster propulsion unit, travels along a trajectory as a typical torpedo, with the ability to perform even very short-range manoeuvres (on spot) and nose-down hovering. The Holonom model instead is capable to translate along any trajectory and rotate around any axes thanks to its three omni-directional thrusters positioned on its body.
Both models are hybrid underwater vehicles: the systems can be tethered and used as ROV in the algorithm development phase or in extremely risky missions, and once sufficiently tested the optical fibre could be easily removed converting Raia in AUV if this is its final use. The communication with the operator will be via a portable computer on the surface: in
ROV mode the Ethernet cable (optical fibre) will be connected directly to the wireless LAN
gateway installed on board and Raia will be steered from the laptop through a blue-tooth
joystick; in AUV mode the surfacing robot itself will be a node of the wireless LAN, allowing
fast data transfer (or manned docking procedure), without the need to retrieve it from the water.
Raia is equipped with the basic AUV instrumentation from the beginning, more sensor and
instrumentation can be added afterwards and during the development of the project/mission,
till the max payload allowable. The following preliminary technical description
table of the Raia Series will give an overview.
