The idea, design and current state of development of an Unmanned Submersible Surface Vehicle: USSC SeaDuck

This paper describes a new type of unmanned marine system, an Unmanned Submersible Surface Vehicle (USSV) that can operate and maintain control over its direction of motion and speed at the surface as well while submerged. The USSV combines the abilities of an unmanned surface craft with those of an autonomous underwater vehicle, such as an underwater glider or an AUV. We describe the motivation behind this particular design and give an overview of the different modes of operation, including a description of the transitions between the different modes. The paper concludes with the current state of development and testing of the individual subcomponents and gives an outlook of testing to commence in November 2018.