The objective of the term project this year is to develop a basic design and graphical simulation system of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). Elements of the systems we emphasize in the Spring 1997 version of the class will include at least some of the following:

• geometric design of the outer fairing of an AUV in terms of spline curves and surfaces,
• functional design of the outer shape to satisfy certain constraints such as symmetry, displacement, center of buoyancy, or objectives such as optimal shape with respect to drag, etc.,
• computation of geometric properties including curvature, surface area, etc.,
• realistic rendering of fairing surface of AUV as shaded image, textured image, or ray traced image, and
• graphical simulation of the motion of an AUV in an underwater known bathymetry map (either the Charles river or Eel Pond), executing certain predefined trajectories.