Dynamic Simulation and Control of an Amphibious Drone for Marine Measurements

Amphibious rovers require precise control systems to ensure seamless navigation across terrestrial and aquatic environments, allowing environmental early monitoring capabilities. This paper presents a control system for prescribing and maintaining a predefined path, addressing challenges such as varying terrain dynamics, hydrodynamic resistance, and propulsion differences. The proposed system enhances autonomous operation and stability while optimizing energy efficiency. Numerical simulations were performed using a multibody dynamics module specifically developed by the research team, which helps to reduce the need for extensive and costly experimental testing during the actuator system design phase. An onboard sensing system is essential both to acquire the marine environmental data required for mission success and to provide feedback to the control system.