Multimodal Underwater Transformable Agent for Efficient Marine Transportation in Dynamic Spatiotemporal Environments

Marine intelligent transportation systems (M-ITS) face challenges in achieving adaptability and efficiency under dynamic spatiotemporal (ST) environments. This paper proposes a novel multimodal underwater transformable agent (MUTA) designed as an adaptive and efficient information node for M-ITS. The MUTA integrates a biomimetic morphing wing, multi-drive propulsion system, incremental environmental perception, and an uncertainty-aware dynamic modeling framework to switch smoothly among long-range (LR) cruising, high-maneuverability (HM) operation, and synergy modes. Comprehensive lake and sea trials demonstrate that the MUTA maintains high motion precision and achieves significant energy efficiency improvements, reaching depths up to 1200 m and covering a range of over 3000km. The MUTA has achieved over 17% efficiency gain in lake and marine environments. This work provides an adaptive and efficient solution for M-ITS under uncertain marine conditions.