Towards reliable subsea object recovery: a simulation study of an auv with a suction-actuated end effector

TL;DR

This study demonstrates a simulation framework for autonomous subsea object recovery at extreme depths, integrating vehicle and manipulator control to validate behaviors before costly field tests.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive simulation approach for autonomous deep-sea object recovery using a Hadal Small Vehicle with a suction end effector, combining realistic modeling and control strategies.

Findings

Successful simulation of vehicle descent to 6,000 m depth

Effective autonomous detection and recovery of target objects

Validation of control framework for coordinated vehicle-manipulator operation

Abstract

Autonomous object recovery in the hadal zone is challenging due to extreme hydrostatic pressure, limited visibility and currents, and the need for precise manipulation at full ocean depth. Field experimentation in such environments is costly, high-risk, and constrained by limited vehicle availability, making early validation of autonomous behaviors difficult. This paper presents a simulation-based study of a complete autonomous subsea object recovery mission using a Hadal Small Vehicle (HSV) equipped with a three-degree-of-freedom robotic arm and a suction-actuated end effector. The Stonefish simulator is used to model realistic vehicle dynamics, hydrodynamic disturbances, sensing, and interaction with a target object under hadal-like conditions. The control framework combines a world-frame PID controller for vehicle navigation and stabilization with an inverse-kinematics-based manipulator controller augmented by acceleration feed-forward, enabling coordinated vehicle - manipulator operation. In simulation, the HSV autonomously descends from the sea surface to 6,000 m, performs structured seafloor coverage, detects a target object, and executes a suction-based recovery. The results demonstrate that high-fidelity simulation provides an effective and low-risk means of evaluating autonomous deep-sea intervention behaviors prior to field deployment.