Design of a small-scale autonomous amphibious vehicle

Abstract

A detailed design of an autonomous amphibious vehicle (AAV) capable of traversing across aquatic and terrestrial environments is presented. The vehicle features a unique suspension system built into the two segment body, whereby a joint allows each segment to pitch and roll independently of one another while traveling across uneven terrain. Four driven paddle wheels propel the vehicle while on-land and on-water. Modular buoyancy attachments have been used in order to allow the AAV to float on water as necessary. A control algorithm has also been proposed to allow the AAV to travel from its current location to another location specified with latitude and longitude coordinates.