Acoustics-Driven Performance Enhancement in Underwater Vehicles: From Component Innovation to Intelligent Actuation

Wang, Xuehao; Wang, Zihao; Chen, Linzhi; Zhu, Yaqiang; Xue, Dongyang; Li, Shuai; Lan, Shiquan; Wang, Danlu; Chen, Cheng

doi:10.3390/act15040194

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Acoustics-Driven Performance Enhancement in Underwater Vehicles: From Component Innovation to Intelligent Actuation

by

Xuehao Wang

^1,2,3

,

Zihao Wang

¹,

Linzhi Chen

¹,

Yaqiang Zhu

¹,

Dongyang Xue

¹

,

Shuai Li

¹,

Shiquan Lan

^2,3,

Danlu Wang

¹ and

Cheng Chen

^1,*

¹

School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University of Commerce, Tianjin 300134, China

²

Tianjin Huiyang Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., Tianjin 300384, China

³

School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300354, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Actuators 2026, 15(4), 194; https://doi.org/10.3390/act15040194

Submission received: 6 February 2026 / Revised: 18 March 2026 / Accepted: 24 March 2026 / Published: 1 April 2026

(This article belongs to the Section Actuators for Robotics)

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Abstract

Underwater vehicles (UVs) are pivotal for ocean exploration, yet their effectiveness is fundamentally constrained by acoustic performance in noisy and dynamic seas. Self-noise, non-stationary interference, and extreme conditions not only degrade sensing, navigation, and stealth but also cascade into losses in propulsion efficiency, actuation reliability, and control precision. This review provides a system-performance-oriented synthesis of advances across four key areas: bioinspired and intelligent noise reduction materials/structures, active noise control and adaptive signal processing, noise-robust navigation and collaborative localization, and deep learning-enhanced acoustic perception. Key findings indicate that bioinspired surfaces reduce flow noise by ≈5 dB, adaptive filtering improves

SNR

by up to 20 dB, and distributed robust filtering ensures multi-AUV consistency under uncertainty. These developments collectively establish acoustic performance not as a parallel metric, but as a fundamental enabler and critical bottleneck for the integrated propulsion-actuation-control stack of next-generation UVs. Consequently, this review outlines viable pathways toward high-performance acoustic–mechanical integration.

Keywords: underwater; acoustic; marine equipment; underwater vehicle

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MDPI and ACS Style

Wang, X.; Wang, Z.; Chen, L.; Zhu, Y.; Xue, D.; Li, S.; Lan, S.; Wang, D.; Chen, C. Acoustics-Driven Performance Enhancement in Underwater Vehicles: From Component Innovation to Intelligent Actuation. Actuators 2026, 15, 194. https://doi.org/10.3390/act15040194

AMA Style

Wang X, Wang Z, Chen L, Zhu Y, Xue D, Li S, Lan S, Wang D, Chen C. Acoustics-Driven Performance Enhancement in Underwater Vehicles: From Component Innovation to Intelligent Actuation. Actuators. 2026; 15(4):194. https://doi.org/10.3390/act15040194

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wang, Xuehao, Zihao Wang, Linzhi Chen, Yaqiang Zhu, Dongyang Xue, Shuai Li, Shiquan Lan, Danlu Wang, and Cheng Chen. 2026. "Acoustics-Driven Performance Enhancement in Underwater Vehicles: From Component Innovation to Intelligent Actuation" Actuators 15, no. 4: 194. https://doi.org/10.3390/act15040194

APA Style

Wang, X., Wang, Z., Chen, L., Zhu, Y., Xue, D., Li, S., Lan, S., Wang, D., & Chen, C. (2026). Acoustics-Driven Performance Enhancement in Underwater Vehicles: From Component Innovation to Intelligent Actuation. Actuators, 15(4), 194. https://doi.org/10.3390/act15040194

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Acoustics-Driven Performance Enhancement in Underwater Vehicles: From Component Innovation to Intelligent Actuation

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