A Modular Approach to the Development of a Fault Tolerant Free-Vehicle

Abstract

Free-vehicles are autonomous instruments that perform oceanographic observations. They have been used for decades to study not only the seafloor through sediment samples or fish traps, but also ocean properties through water samples and different types of sensors. This paper presents the Control Computer redesign process of a free-vehicle using modular design techniques. The modular approach allows for grouping the system components into different subsets that are implemented as modules in the new free-vehicle design. A data sample is presented to demonstrate the functionality of the new design.