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Strengthening the AUV Community
AUVAC brings together academic, private
sector, and government organizations in support of Autonomous Undersea
Vehicles (AUVs), in order to advance AUV system
technology, promote AUV interoperability, and increase AUV availability
in support of national ocean community needs.
This website is brand new, and is an effort to encourage
collaboration within the AUV
community, from the point of view
of both users and research & technology developers.
The content at this time is being updated as new information
is obtained from people involved in the community.
We encourage you to suggest information to include
within the website and to become more involved in the effort to expand
awareness to potential users as well as sharing questions and
results.
AUVAC is a program of the Autonomous Undersea
Systems Institute.
More Information »
Symposium: Launch & Recovery of Manned & Unmanned Vehicles from Marine Platforms 2010 Symposium
April 8-9, 2010
8-9 March 2010
Linthicum, Maryland (Baltimore / Washington Corridor)
American Society of Naval Engineers
Maritime Institute of Technology & Graduate Studies (MITAGS)
The 2010 Launch and Recovery Conference of Manned and Unmanned Vehicles from Marine Platforms represents a unique opportunity to also include the vehicles themselves in the discussion and the special interfaces that must exist between the vehicle and the platform. Unmanned vehicles are increasingly integrated into the day-to-day operations of naval and commercial maritime operations, from ocean platform inspection, to search-and-rescue, to surface and antisubmarine warfare. At the same time, the use of small manned vehicles is also on the rise, whether high-speed boats on Coast Guard ships or helicopters on research vessels. The need to operate both manned and unmanned vehicles from the same platform is of increasing importance, and so are the means to quickly and safely launch and recover a wide variety of such vehicles – which are evolving at a rapid pace – is an area of intense research and development in national and international naval, commercial and academic sectors.
Symposium: 9Th International Symposium on Technology and the Mine Problem
May 17-20, 2010
May 17-20, 2010, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey California
Themes of the conference will address technologies related to mine detection, localzation and neutralization, for applications in mine warfare relating to both port security at home and assured access abroad. Special emphasis will be placed on technologies relating to the use of unmanned systems role in the mine problem.
Areas of particular technological interest for unmanned sysyems include:
- Propulsion energy
- Launch and Recovery
- Autonomy and communications
- Sensors
- Navigation, guidance, and control
Community News
Unmanned Priority
April 3, 2010 — via Seapower Magazine
QDR recommends more funding for Navy to develop new systems, vehicles for surface, underwater missions
Slow Progress
While the Navy sees unmanned craft as critical to future operations, efforts to develop an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) have fallen short.
Decades of research have yielded highly capable sensors, but shortcomings in technology and reliability have hampered development of a UUV to carry them.
Cost growth and size limitations also have been program inhibitors.
The Navy established the UUV Advanced Development Office to direct “experimentation and technology maturation.”The Underwater Thinking Robot – Explorer
March 8, 2010 — via Netsons Blog
Canada has only three years to complete a deadline which is to compile enough evidence to support its claim to a vast Northern Territory in the Arctic. It has a critical mission, to map the sea floor in this area, and at a depth of up to 5 kilometers, there is enough pressure to crush a car to scrap metal, and kill a person long before that. How can they do this without risking life and limb?
In March of this year a small team will attempt to do just that. From an ice camp just above Borden island, over 4,000 kilometers from Toronto, they plan to launch a pioneer Autonomous unmanned vehicle, named Explorer. This six meter long, yellow torpedo shaped craft will be the first of it’s kind to explore a dark and mountainous world in the deep Arctic Ocean, previously unseen until now. Creeping through the depths, Explorer will travel at the same speed as a fast canoe, and tell us so much about the Ocean floor.Royal New Zealand Navy assist in the search for the sunken ferry, PRINCESS ASHIKA.
March 8, 2010 — via Kongsberg Maritime
Hydroid, Inc. announces that in August 2009, the Royal New Zealand Navy's Operational Diving Team and a specialist Remote Search Team were flown to Tonga, in an RNZAF Hercules, at short notice to assist with the search for the sunken ferry, PRINCESS ASHIKA. Their REMUS 100 systems were the primary assets used in the search.
The search operations using the REMUS AUVs were successful and the RNZN located the ferry, intact and sitting in an upright position at a depth of 110 meters. The operations validate the belief that the REMUS systems could be mobilized quickly and conduct AUV operations in very remote locations with little logistical support.Sea Ice/ AUV Specialist wanted
March 7, 2010 — via University of Tasmania
The appointee will have responsibility for coordinating and implementing an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) mission under Antarctic sea ice (in conjunction with vehicle operators), analysis of field data from the under-ice environment, and publication of results in peer-reviewed international journals.
Increased Exposure
For vehicle manufacturers
AUVAC maintains a database of AUV system and subsystem technologies in order to match prospective customers with the equipment they need most: yours.
A Centralized Resource
For AUV users
From start to finish, AUVAC's members can help make your AUV mission a success. We bring together organizations involved in systems, integration, logistics, support, and analysis.
Information Sharing
For the AUV Community
AUVAC encourages communication between academic, private, and government organizations in order to increase the interoperability of systems and sensors.