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Community News for July, 2008
DARPA STO Station Keeping Buoy Energy Harvesting /Harnessing RFI
July 31, 2008
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Strategic Technology Office (STO) Persistent Ocean Surveillance – Station Keeping program (POS-SK) is developing advanced concepts for a new tactical ocean surveillance buoy capable of extracting energy from the local environment for station keeping and long-term persistence.
Tritech launch subsea acoustic telemetry product range at UUVS
July 30, 2008
A miniature, subsea, acoustic telemetry product range is being launched at The UUVS (Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Showcase) on 23 & 24 September 2008 by Tritech on stand number 456.
Math shows how insects breathe underwater
July 30, 2008
Hundreds of insect species spend much of their time underwater, where food may be more plentiful. MIT mathematicians have now figured out exactly how those insects breathe underwater.
'Hydropalooza' comes to bay
July 30, 2008
Alaskans sometimes get suspicious when the federal government comes to town, but with the arrival this month of two National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research ships, this time, the federal government is really here to help you. Its help mariners can appreciate: a two-year program NOAA calls Hydropalooza to map the Kachemak Bay coastline and sea floor that will result in updated nautical charts and water depth and coastline maps. Researchers hold a meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center to explain the project.
GTRI to develop testing for unmanned military technology
July 30, 2008
The Georgia Tech Research Institute ( GTRI ) has won a contract to support development of a roadmap designed to improve the testing and evaluation of unmanned and autonomous systems for the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense ( OSD ). “The field of unmanned and autonomous systems is evolving rapidly, and new techniques are needed to effectively test and evaluate the capabilities that are being inserted into these systems. This is especially challenging for systems that are increasing in levels of autonomy,” said Lora Weiss, a GTRI principal research engineer. “Our task is to develop a roadmap that identifies new approaches to testing autonomous systems and details what needs to be tested, how the autonomous technologies can be tested, and when the testing needs to occur.”
‘Mineful’ undersea vehicles A multiagency effort stages an anti-mine exercise in the waters of Honolulu Harbor
July 28, 2008
The Navy and the Coast Guard conducted a four-day exercise last week in Honolulu Harbor to test the techniques and procedures for using unmanned, underwater vehicles and sonar to search for mines planted by terrorists.
COTS or military: sometimes it's hard to tell
July 27, 2008
It's getting increasingly difficult these days to tell the real difference between commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components, and those purpose-built for military use. I think the reason for this is not that the two design approaches represent clearly different technologies, but instead that the two are simply opposite sides of the same coin.
Navy tests unmanned underwater vehicle in Honolulu Harbor
July 23, 2008
U.S. Navy personnel today launched an unmanned underwater vehicle into Honolulu Harbor as part of a simulated exercise to search for mines.
Scientists go high-tech to track Arctic char in Frobisher Bay
July 21, 2008
Researchers monitoring northern oceans are preparing to use the latest technology to track the movements of Arctic char in Frobisher Bay, near Iqaluit, this week.
Scientists from the international Ocean Tracking Network, which studies water bodies around the world, hope their char research can provide information on the health of marine environments in the North, especially in light of climate change.
China to Use Intelligent Robot for the First Time in Arctic Expedition
July 19, 2008
Chinese scientists will use an intelligent robot for the first time in the country's scientific expedition to the North Pole, Zhang Haisheng, chief scientist of the expedition said Wednesday. The robot, named North Pole ARV, is the first Autonomous and Remote operated Vehicle (ARV) developed independently by Chinese scientists.
Bluefin Spray Glider: Vehicle of Choice for Ocean Monitoring and Forecasting
July 19, 2008
Bluefin Robotics, a leading Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) manufacturer, has received a contract for the Bluefin Spray Glider from Horizon Marine, Inc., an ocean monitoring and forecasting service provider. Located in Marion Massachusetts, Horizon Marine uses state-of-the-art techniques in the analysis of oceanographic data in mapping, modeling, and forecasting significant events for their customers in the oil and gas industry worldwide.
Heriot Watt University wins Anglo-French AUV Competition
July 18, 2008
A team from Edinburgh's Heriot Watt University has won the €8,000 ($12,677) first prize in the third annual international student autonomous underwater competition organised by the DGA French procurement agency and Britain's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL). The idea behind the competition is to advance autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) technology.
Bluefin Sells Sub to Horizon Marine, Competes with iRobot for Big Navy Contract
July 17, 2008
Greg told you last month about Bedford, MA-based iRobot’s collaboration with the University of Washington to turn its Seaglider undersea robot into a commercial product. Not to be outdone, Cambridge, MA-based Bluefin Robotics announced this week that it has received its first commercial contract for a similar autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), the Spray Glider.
EnerSys Awarded $13 Million in Submarine Battery Contracts
July 15, 2008
EnerSys (NYSE: ENS), the world's largest manufacturer, marketer and distributor of industrial batteries, announced that it has been awarded contracts for submarine batteries worth over $13 million in recent weeks. The batteries are scheduled for delivery over the next several years.
Unmanned Yellow Submarine Studies Ocean
July 13, 2008
Hundreds of miles out in the Atlantic Ocean, a small, unmanned submarine is nearing the mid-point of its journey from New Jersey to Spain. It is the longest, but not the first, voyage for yellow sub, which is collecting scientific data throughout its trip.
The sub, developed and operated by Rutgers University, is known as “Scarlet Knight” after the school’s mascot. Scientists hope its successful travel across the ocean will prove that an undersea glider can play a role in the global ocean observing system.
RoboLobster: Is this gonna be mans next best friend?
July 13, 2008
Researchers at DARPA and Nikolai Rulkov of information systems Laboratories in San Diego, Ayers, are working on a way to integrate a jelly fish like brain into advanced robotic defense vehicles to sniff out mines and other hazardous materials autonomously. Using a new electronic nervous systems (ENS) controller, to create autonomous, biometric underwater robotic models that emulate the animals‘ nervous systems, they hope to create The RoboLamprey.
Sonar Hones AUV images
July 12, 2008
The Royal Norwegian Navy is evaluating one of the most advanced autonomous forward underwater sensors for mine countermeasures and rapid environmental assessment on the market. The Hisas 1030 is a synthetlc aperture sonar system that is carried on board the latest Hugin 1000- MR (multirole) autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). Kongsberg Maritime and Norway's defense research agency jointly developed the sonar and AUV.
Deep-sea Discoveries on Expedition Using NASA Astrobiology ASTEP AUVs
July 9, 2008
The June 26 issue of Nature features a report on the results of underwater research conducted with a pair of NASA Astrobiology-sponsored robotic explorers.
Two autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), called Jaguar and Puma, funded by the Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP) program, were deployed on the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's (WHOI's) Arctic Gakkel Vents Expedition (AGAVE). The AGAVE team traveled to the Arctic Ocean last summer to study the Gakkel Ridge, a largely unexplored area of the mid-ocean ridge system.
Teledyne Completes Acquisition of Webb Research
July 8, 2008 — via Teledyne Technologies
Teledyne Technologies Incorporated announced today that its subsidiary, Teledyne Instruments, Inc., has completed the acquisition of assets of Webb Research Corp. Webb Research, located in E. Falmouth, Mass., is the world’s leading manufacturer of autonomous underwater gliding vehicles, as well as autonomous profiling drifters and floats.
AAI confirms two new USV development efforts nearing maturity
July 8, 2008
AAI has confirmed it has two parallel development efforts underway for new USVs, one of which, a heavy tow craft, is currently undergoing inshore sea trials on Baltimore harbour.
The second vessel, a fast patrol design based on a commercially available speed boat, is also undergoing company trials off Florida. AAI says it is currently in discussions with the US Navy (USN) about a potential company funded series of demonstrations on Chesapeake Bay, later phases of which could include cooperative teaming between the fast USV and an AAI Aerosonde UAV.
Working their way to the bottom
July 7, 2008
Neil Riggs and Christopher Williams get to play with some pretty fun toys.The duo are currently building a state-of-the-art underwater robot that can think for itself.
About 50 people came to a lecture Thursday at the National Research Council building on the Memorial University campus.The event was hosted by the City of St. John's and Oceans Advance which promotes the city as a leader in ocean technology. The presentation included a half-size scale model of the robot and a short animation of how it will move and work deep below the sea once it is finished.
The first step to obtaining an earmark? Asking for it
July 6, 2008
The Autonomous Undersea Systems Institute sounds like something out of a comic book. But this Lee-based program wouldn't have netted $1.2 million in federal funding if it were as fictional as Aquaman. The institute, known as AUSI, convinced Rep. Carol Shea-Porter and Sens. John Sununu and Judd Gregg that it needed money to advance the production of autonomous underwater vehicles.