Development of the nanoAUV: A Fully-Autonomous and Miniaturised Underwater Vehicle for Under-Ice and Subglacial Lake Exploration

The nanoAUV is a fully autonomous and miniaturised underwater vehicle developed for under-ice and subglacial lake exploration. The vehicle is part of the TRIPLE project, which additionally comprises of an ice melting probe and a launch and recovery system. The nanoAUV is designed to navigate autonomously and carry a variety of sensors and systems for environmental sampling and data collection. This paper describes the system development, including sensor integration for under-ice and subglacial lake exploration in Polar regions. The paper also presents initial results of tests and evaluations of the nanoAUV and provides an outlook on a forthcoming mission to explore the underside of the ice shelf near Neumayer Station III research station, Weddell Sea, Antarctica.