Vehicle operable as an underwater glider and a surface sailing vehicle and a method thereof

1 . A vehicle capable of functioning as both an underwater glider and a surface sailing vehicle, comprising:

a body with a hull;

a first fin and a second fin attached to a rotating body, the first fin and the second fin projecting laterally and outwardly from the hull, each fin having opposite top and bottom surfaces and being pivotable relative to the body;

an actuator located within the rotating body for independently adjusting the angle of each fin;

a first ballast weight positioned inside the first fin and a second ballast weight positioned inside the second fin, the first ballast weight configured to move laterally inside the first fin and the second ballast weight configured to move laterally inside the second fin to change the roll angle of the vehicle in underwater mode or to provide stability in surface mode; and

a variable-buoyancy propulsion system carried by the body, wherein the variable-buoyancy propulsion system causes the vehicle to alternately descend and ascend in water.

2 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the actuator is operable to independently operate one of the first fin or the second fin.

3 . The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising solar panels on the fins for recharging batteries and antennas for positioning and sending data, providing redundancy in case of component failure and preventing marine growth on the fins during long-range surface operations.

4 . The vehicle of claim 1 , configured to automatically switch between surface mode and underwater glider mode based on predetermined conditions.

5 . The vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the predetermined conditions include water depth, power level of the vehicle, or a time value.

6 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle is an Autonomous Unmanned Surface Vehicle (AUSV).

7 . The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a compartment within the body capable of launching and receiving at least one other vehicle or system.

8 . The vehicle of claim 1 , configured to operate in an underwater glider mode, collecting oceanographic data and gliding along water currents while descending or ascending.

9 . A method for enabling a vehicle to function as both an underwater glider and a surface sailing vehicle, the vehicle comprising a body with a hull, a rotating body, a first fin, a second fin, and an actuator, the method comprising:

attaching the first fin and the second fin to the rotating body, the first fin and the second fin projecting laterally and outwardly from the hull, each fin having opposite top and bottom surfaces and being pivotable relative to the body;

independently adjusting the angle of the first fin and/or the second fin using the actuator located within the rotating body;

moving a first ballast weight laterally inside the first fin and a second ballast weight laterally inside the second fin to change the roll angle of the vehicle in underwater mode or to provide stability in surface mode; and

operating the vehicle in a surface mode or an underwater glider mode.

10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising a variable-buoyancy propulsion system carried by the body, wherein the variable-buoyancy propulsion system causes the vehicle to alternately descend and ascend in water while the vehicle is operating in the underwater glider mode.

11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the actuator is operable to independently operate one of the first fin or the second fin.

12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle includes solar panels on the fins for recharging batteries and antennas for positioning and sending data, providing redundancy in case of component failure and preventing marine growth on the fins during long-range surface operations.

13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle automatically switches between surface mode and underwater glider mode based on predetermined conditions.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the predetermined conditions include water depth, power level of the vehicle, or a time value.

15 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle is an Autonomous Unmanned Surface Vehicle (AUSV).

16 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising providing a compartment within the body capable of launching and receiving at least one other vehicle or system.

17 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle operates in an underwater glider mode, collecting oceanographic data and gliding along water currents while descending or ascending.

18 . A system for autonomous ocean exploration and data generation, comprising:

a plurality of Autonomous Unmanned Surface Vehicles (AUSVs), each AUSV capable of functioning as both an underwater glider and a surface sailing vehicle, each AUSV comprising a body with a hull, a first fin and a second fin attached to a rotating body, an actuator for independently adjusting the angle of the first fin and/or the second fin, a first ballast weight positioned inside the first fin and a second ballast weight positioned inside the second fin, the first ballast weight configured to move laterally inside the first fin and the second ballast weight configured to move laterally inside the second fin to change the roll angle of the vehicle in underwater mode or to provide stability in surface mode, a compartment within the body for containing at least one other vehicle or system, and a variable-buoyancy propulsion system carried by the body;

a SWARM protocol module configured to program the missions of the AUSVs and enable the AUSVs to explore the oceans autonomously, wherein the SWARM protocol module utilizes human-provided compute and storage capacity to calculate current and next steps of the AUSVs;

a generative AI module configured to generate a Large Language Model (LLM) for underwater items based on data collected by the AUSVs; and

a layer 2 blockchain acting as a public ledger, configured to incentivize service providers and organize access to the underwater LLM.

19 . A vehicle capable of functioning as both an underwater glider and a surface sailing vehicle, comprising:

a body with a hull;

a first fin and a second fin attached to a rotating body, the first fin and the second fin projecting laterally and outwardly from the hull, each fin having opposite top and bottom surfaces and being pivotable relative to the body;

an actuator located within the rotating body for independently adjusting the angle of each fin;

a first ballast weight positioned inside the first fin and a second ballast weight positioned inside the second fin, the first ballast weight configured to move laterally inside the first fin and the second ballast weight configured to move laterally inside the second fin to change the roll angle of the vehicle in underwater mode or to provide stability in surface mode, wherein the first ballast weight is configured to move from a first ballast weight position to a second ballast weight position, and wherein the second ballast weight position is farther away from the hull than the first ballast weight position is from the hull; and

a variable-buoyancy propulsion system carried by the body, wherein the variable-buoyancy propulsion system causes the vehicle to alternately descend and ascend in water.

20 . A vehicle capable of functioning as both an underwater glider and a surface sailing vehicle, comprising:

a body with a hull;

a first fin and a second fin attached to a rotating body, the first fin and the second fin projecting laterally and outwardly from the hull, each fin having opposite top and bottom surfaces and being pivotable relative to the body, wherein the first fin includes a first fin first end attached to the rotating body and a first fin second end extending outwardly from the hull, and the second fin includes a second fin first end attached to the rotating body and a second fin second end extending outwardly from the hull;

an actuator located within the rotating body for independently adjusting the angle of each fin;

a first ballast weight positioned inside the first fin and a second ballast weight positioned inside the second fin, wherein the first ballast weight is configured to move laterally from the first fin first end to the first fin second end and the second ballast weight is configured to move laterally from the second fin first end to the second fin second end to change the roll angle of the vehicle in underwater mode or to provide stability in surface mode; and

a variable-buoyancy propulsion system carried by the body, wherein the variable-buoyancy propulsion system causes the vehicle to alternately descend and ascend in water.