Patent ID: 11967853
Assignee: THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AS REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  B | IPC B  H

Claim 12:
13. A method of controlling an autonomous underwater vehicle, comprising:
providing an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), the AUV having a processor, a power source, a propulsion unit having a turbine external to the AUV, a generator joined to the turbine, control surfaces, and a tether joined to an anchor deployable from the AUV, wherein the propulsion unit operates the turbine to propel the AUV through an aquatic environment;
monitoring a power condition of the power source with respect to a threshold value;
reducing the speed of the AUV when the power condition falls below the threshold value;
deploying the anchor after said step of reducing the speed;
restraining movement of the AUV by the tether joined between the AUV and the anchor;
operating the control surfaces to move the AUV in a predetermined trajectory through a fluid stream of the aquatic environment;
allowing the turbine to spin in response to the fluid stream; and
generating power in the generator to recharge the power source.