ASV AeroCat: From Educational Platform to Advanced Research in Cooperative Robotics

Abstract

Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASVs) are increasingly used in bathymetric surveys, environmental monitoring, and search and rescue missions. Recent research highlights ASV–UAV cooperation, leveraging the complementary strengths of both platforms for collaborative tasks. However, few ASVs are designed for education, creating a gap in hands-on marine robotics instruction. This paper presents AeroCat, a compact, low-cost ASV developed at CEFET-MG for undergraduate robotics education and later upgraded to support cooperative research. The modernized platform features improved hulls, an enhanced navigation system, and a landing/takeoff structure for small UAVs, enabling multi-robot collaboration. Key contributions include introducing AeroCat as a versatile educational and research platform, implementing autonomous navigation and control strategies, and demonstrating its application in simulation-based case studies on modeling, positioning control, and collaborative inspection.