Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding in Ukraine is strengthening its long-standing leadership in underwater technology education by integrating Dynautics AUVSim marine simulation technology into teaching and research programmes focused on autonomous underwater vehicles.
Background
The Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding (NUоS) in Ukraine has more than three decades of experience in the research, design, and application of underwater robotic systems. This legacy provides a strong foundation for the University’s current focus on intelligent marine robotic systems and on training the next generation of underwater technology specialists.
The Challenge
As autonomous underwater vehicles become increasingly important in marine science, offshore energy, environmental monitoring, underwater inspection, and defence, universities need practical tools that help students and researchers understand how these systems behave under real operating conditions.
For NUoS, the challenge was to provide an educational and research environment in which students could model the dynamics of autonomous underwater vehicles, test control approaches, and investigate vehicle behaviour without relying exclusively on physical trials. The University required a simulation platform capable of supporting laboratory work, student projects, master’s theses, and doctoral research.
The Solution: Dynautics AUVSim
With financial support from Micron, the University acquired a licence for Dynautics AUVSim, a specialised software package for modelling autonomous underwater vehicles.
AUVSim enables users to simulate the dynamics of autonomous underwater vehicles in realistic marine environments and evaluate the performance of control systems developed by students and researchers. It provides the University with a practical means of connecting theory with applied engineering, allowing learners to test ideas, compare system responses, and refine their designs before moving towards real-world implementation.
During system testing and integration, the University successfully established a universal communication interface between AUVSim and its own controller developed in MATLAB/Simulink. This integration enables researchers and students to test their own control algorithms directly within the simulation environment, providing a flexible platform for the development and validation of advanced autonomous underwater vehicle control systems.
The University is now introducing AUVSim into its educational programmes, where students will design, implement, and evaluate their own autonomous underwater vehicle control systems as part of laboratory work, course projects, master’s theses, and doctoral research. By combining theoretical study with realistic simulation, the platform provides a practical environment for experiments that would be difficult and costly to carry out using physical vehicles alone.
Stakeholder comments
“AUVSim provides students with practical experience in designing, tuning, and validating autonomous vehicle control systems before deploying them on physical hardware. This improves their understanding of vehicle dynamics while providing a safe, repeatable, and highly flexible laboratory environment that supports both research and practical engineering education.”
Dr Hanna Hrudinina – Associate Professor at the Kherson Educational and Scientific Institute
“Obtaining a licence from Dynautics to use the specialised AUVSim software package for autonomous underwater vehicle modelling opens up new opportunities to enhance the education of undergraduate and PhD students at our University. To support the effective introduction of AUVSim into academic research, the Department of Electrical Equipment and Automation of the Kherson Educational and Scientific Institute developed the ‘Concept of the Educational and Research Project for the Implementation of AUVSim Software’. The Concept covers the academic, methodological, and research activities required for its effective integration into teaching and research. It has been approved by the Academic Council of NUoS. Preparatory work is currently under way at the Department of Electrical Equipment and Automation, and the practical use of AUVSim in the University’s educational process will begin in September 2026.”
Professor Volodymyr Blintsov – Head of the Educational and Research Project; Programme Director of the Educational and Research Programme “Intelligent Marine Robotic Systems”; Director of the Research Institute of Underwater Technology at NUoS
“We are delighted that NUoS has adopted our AUV simulation tool, and we look forward to supporting both its researchers and future student cohorts. We were particularly pleased with the thorough and methodical evaluation process they demonstrated, which highlighted the capabilities of the software in a rigorous academic environment. Our discounted licensing programme for universities and research organisations is designed to make the development of advanced vessel simulation and control systems more accessible, enabling higher education institutions to develop, test, and validate complex control systems quickly and cost-effectively.”
Dr Henry Robinson – Chief Executive Officer of Dynautics
Contact us to learn more about the substantial discounts offered by Dynautics on its marine simulator suite for academic institutions and higher education organisations worldwide.
