The Present State of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Applications and Technologies

AUVs have proved their usefulness in recent years and continue to do so. This paper is a review of the current state of the art of AUVs. Present AUV capabilities are reviewed through a discussion of feasible present-day AUV missions. The state of key AUV design features and sensor technologies is also addressed, identifying those areas most critical to continued future progress in AUV development.