Illarionov G. Y., Sidenko K.S.

Autonomous unmanned underwater vehicle (AUUV) of micro type is a relatively new class product of the science intensive underwater technologies, generated as a result of requirements evolution of total miniaturization of all AUUV systems. The greatest activity of researches and development (taking into account the number of patents and publications in the scientific and technical literature), devoted to the problems of creation of micro - AUUV, is observed in the USA, Japan, Singapore, Canada and other countries. The main lines of investigation and development in this area are: energy provision system; propulsion - steering systems; designs with the use of bionic principles; tiny control systems; autonomous systems of navigation; systems of technical vision; tiny sensor controls. The design and characteristics of known micro - AUUV: «Seraf-ina» (Australia); «MicroHunter» and «Ranger» (USA), etc. are considered. Perspective micro - AUUVs are more often developed with the use of bionics and a biomimicry achievements. The famous bionic micro - AUUVs: « Lobster Robot », « Undulatory Robot », «Tuna», «Pike» (USA); « Squid Robot » (Japan); robot-fish MT1 (Great Britain) are described. The following military-applied problems are possibly characteristic of micro class AUUV: various reconnaissance actions with the use of optoelectronic, electromagnetic, hydroacoustic, seismic, etc. sensors (with the penetration of the device into well protected water areas); search, detection, and in the long term the destruction of combat divers and underwater robots, getting into the protected water areas; the performance of a wide spectrum of sea mine warfare (search, detection, destruction of sea mines); explosive, biological, chemical ordnance disposal. Thus AUUV can individually be used or in group consisting up to 50 units Priority area of researches and development on the creation of AUUV is the bionics. A big number of the works financed by the US Ministry of Defence is focused on this area. It is possible to assume, that mass production of micro - AUUV will begin not earlier than in 2020-2030. At that micro - AUUVs will be firstly created at the cost less than 500-1000 dollars as a single application unit. Researches and development of fighting robots in tiny performance are of an evident military orientation. Flying, creeping, floating, reconnaissance and fighting robots of a class micro soon can get anywhere, conducting reconnaissance activity for military purposes, and in the future, probably, become also the elements of destruction systems