Technical Description, Modelling, and Simulation of the U-CAT Underwater Vehicle

This publication presents the technical description, modelling, and simulation of the U-CAT underwater vehicle, a bio-inspired autonomous robot designed for archaeological shipwreck exploration. U-CAT features a unique four-finned propulsion system optimized for maneuverability in confined underwater environments. The work provides detailed insights into the vehicle’s hardware, kinematics, dynamics, hydrodynamic modelling, fin dynamics, and control allocation strategies. It further introduces simulation frameworks and numerical parameters that capture the physical behavior of the robot, enabling future research in underwater robotics and control systems.