Community News for October, 2009

ASTM F2545 - 07 Standard Guide for Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) Physical Payload Interface

October 30, 2009 — via ASTM

This guide covers the interface requirements for the physical payload interface of Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUVs), specifically the 21-in. heavyweight UUV body

USCG Cutter Found by Icelandic Coast Guard

October 29, 2009 — via Offshore Industry

Sixty-seven years after being torpedoed by a German U-boat in January 1942, the final resting place of the Treasury Class US Coast Guard Cutter Alexander Hamilton WPG-34 was finally identified in early September 2009 during an Icelandic Coast Guard operation utilising a Gavia AUV. The Alexander Hamilton became the first US loss in the Atlantic after the Pearl Harbour attacks (7 December 1941) while escorting a convoy to Iceland and within sight of land.

Autosub6000 dives to depth of 3.5 miles

October 28, 2009 — via National Oceanography Centre, Southampton

The United Kingdom’s deepest diving Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), Autosub6000, has been put through its paces during an extremely successful engineering trials cruise on the RRS Discovery, 27 September to 17 October 2009.

Northrop Grumman's Douglas Orellana Honored by Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers

October 28, 2009 — via Northrop Grumman

Douglas Orellana, a systems engineer for Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), has received the 2009 Promising Engineer of the Year award from the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) for his outstanding technical accomplishments.

Test Driving Marport’s Unmanned Underwater Vehicle

October 27, 2009 — via Marport

Last Thursday (October 22, 2009), Marport’s Underwater Robotics group successfully demonstrated the unique manoeuvring capabilities of the SQX-500 Unmanned Underwater Vehicle in the NRC-IOT test tank.

NOAA Office of Coast Survey Purchases Iver2 AUV

October 23, 2009 — via OceanServer

The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Coast Survey has recently purchased an Iver2 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) for research purposes. The Iver vehicle enables NOAA to evaluate the expanding role of small, lightweight AUVs for near coastal studies.

USVs and UUVs as Minehunters

October 23, 2009 — via Defence Talk

It now looks increasingly likely that drones – specifically unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) – will play a growing role in minehunting within a few years. A range of scenarios can be envisaged. The French defence procurement agency (DGA) has asked DCNS and co-contractors Thales Underwater Systems and ECA to help it determine which scenarios are the most promising.

Former MBARI president Marcia McNutt confirmed as head of USGS

October 23, 2009 — via Monterey Hearld

Marcia McNutt, who served as president and chief executive officer of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss Landing for the past 12 years, has been confirmed as director of the U.S. Geological Survey.

SAMS glider launched

October 21, 2009 — via SAMS

Last week, scientists from the Scottish Association for Marine Science SAMS have deployed a Seaglider off the West coast of Scotland. Talisker is the first glider to be deployed in British waters, and is going to travel across the Rockall Trough and back, profiling the ocean down to a thousand meters. It is an autonomous vehicle, travelling on its own (although closely monitored and directed by the "pilots" back at the laboratory!) and sending its data daily to SAMS.

Oases for Life on the Mid-Cayman Rise

October 20, 2009 — via WHOI

This October a renowned team of oceanographers and astrobiologists will explore one of the deepest points in the Caribbean Sea, searching for life in extreme seafloor environments. Using the new hybrid underwater robotic vehicle Nereus, these scientists will extend their investigations beyond the reach of other research submersibles to the bottom of the Mid-Cayman Rise, whose maximum depth is just over 6,800 meters (4.2 miles) deep.

European deep-sea research: Climate changes and deep-sea ecosystems in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

October 20, 2009 — via Uni-protokolle

Scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, the University of Hamburg and their European colleagues investigate the deep-sea environment in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

ARA to be awarded Sole Source EOD UUV support contract

October 19, 2009 — via Fedbizops.gov

Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, Pacific (SSC Pacific) intends to award a firm-fixed price contract to Applied Research Associates, Inc.

Ocean science goes deep

October 14, 2009 — via NatureNews

A global mission to wire up sea-floor observatories gets under way.

Fuelled by more than $100 million from the US economic stimulus package, an unprecedented network of underwater surveillance equipment is beginning to take shape in the world's oceans.

The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) is the "single greatest step forward for ocean science in the United States for half a century", says Tim Cowles of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, a non-profit organization that manages and coordinates the OOI from its base in Washington DC.

Will Nuclear Robot Ship Sail Saturn's Moon?

October 14, 2009 — via Fox News

One of NASA's next great adventures could take place with a raindrop-flecked camera bobbing around on extraterrestrial waves. Or at least, that's the hope of several researchers who want to sail an unmanned, nuclear-powered capsule on Saturn's moon Titan.

Titan eerily resembles Earth with characteristics such as wind, rain and lakes, but all within the bounds of a frigid environment where liquid methane and ethane replace water. The many lakes dotting the moon's surface suggested an alternative mission proposal compared to the usual rovers and hard surface landers that NASA has sent to other destinations.

Neah Power Successfully Completes Second Office of Naval Research Award

October 13, 2009 — via Neah Power

Neah Power Systems, Inc. developing fuel cell-based renewable energy solutions, stated today that it has completed the development of a silicon-based direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) for the Office of Naval Research (ONR). Neah has provided ONR deliverables of a system that could serve as a building block for low power (1-200W) military, industrial, and consumer applications. The fuel cell operates using a liquid methanol fuel source and a liquid oxidant, which uniquely allows the fuel cell to operate in an environment with low quality or no air.

NRL's Ion Tiger fuel cell unmanned air vehicle completes 23-hour flight

October 13, 2009 — via EurekaAlert

The Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL's) Ion Tiger, a hydrogen-powered fuel cell unmanned air vehicle (UAV), has flown 23 hours and 17 minutes, setting an unofficial flight endurance record for a fuel-cell powered flight. The test flight took place on October 9th through 10th at Aberdeen Proving Ground. The Ion Tiger fuel cell development system team is led by NRL and includes Protonex Technology Corporation, the University of Hawaii, and HyperComp Engineering. The program is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR).

The University of Sydney Orders New Iver2 EP42 AUV

October 12, 2009 — via OceanServer

The Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) based at The University of Sydney, has purchased one Iver2 EP42 autonomous underwater vehicle(AUV).

The ACFR is dedicated to the research, development, application and dissemination of field robotics principles. The Iver EP42 AUV Model will enable further research into existing high-resolution stereo imaging for marine habitat surveying as well as studies focused on developing extended mission duration AUV systems. Researchers will initially look at a number of key elements including optimizing AUV and sensor power, survey planning and optimization and sampling techniques to maximize coverage area and resolution.

Taking The Pulse Of Oregon's 'Dead Zones'

October 10, 2009 — via Red Orbit

Underwater robotic gliders help reveal why massive oceanic expanses are losing virtually all of their marine life every summer

MIT's robo-fish swims like the real thing

October 9, 2009 — via Giz Mag

What is it with scientists and robotic animals? Did they not have pets as children? This year alone, we’ve seen robot ferrets, penguins, dogs, locusts, moles and bats. And now, scientists at MIT have come up with a robotic fish. Although we’ve seen mechanical fish before, this one is different in a very significant way – the robofish truly mimics the natural swimming action of real fish, flexing mechanical muscles to propel itself through the water.

Hypoxia in 2009 about average reseachers say

October 8, 2009 — via Oregon State University

The Pacific Ocean off Oregon again experienced low-oxygen waters near the seafloor in summer of 2009, but the winds that fuel annual upwelling abated sufficiently in August and September to avoid severe hypoxia and the threat of biological “dead zones,” according to scientists.

Oregon State University researchers, who have been monitoring the near-shore waters with help from colleagues ranging from NOAA fish surveyors to Oregon crabbers, say this season’s hypoxia area was “about average” in size and duration in comparison with recent years.

Augusta Systems Awarded Navy Contract for Security Solution

October 6, 2009 — via Augusta Systems

Augusta Systems, Inc., provider of technologies that power the intelligent convergence of devices, systems and networks, has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research for the development of an intelligent surveillance system built upon Augusta Systems EdgeFrontier products.

The system will enable the integration of multiple types of monitoring technologies into a converged, intelligent solution, providing enhanced protection of military facilities and assets, including port and river security operations. The converged system will feature event or policy-based actions and a map-based user interface, providing a common operating picture for data visualization and management.

Maritime Surveillance Systems (PMS485) Technolgy Review

October 6, 2009 — via Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command

The Program Executive Office, Littoraland Mine Warfare (PEO LMW), Maritime Surveillance Systems (MSS), Program Manager Ships 485 (PMS 485) requires continuous updates of technology and new concepts to support its mission to provide undersea surveillance systems to the Fleet. Systems are comprised of fixed systems, mobile systems such as Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS), and distributed sensing systems.

To facilitate efficient information exchange, PMS 485 has established a program to periodically review technologies and ideas from industry, government labs, universities, and knowledgeable individuals during scheduled 2-day periods on an annual basis.

The next scheduled session is planned for 1330-1730, November 9 and 0800- 1730, November 10 in San Diego, CA.

New Material Could Expand Applications for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

October 1, 2009 — via Georgia Tech News

A new ceramic material described in this week’s issue of the journal Science could help expand the applications for solid oxide fuel cells—devices that generate electricity directly from a wide range of liquid or gaseous fuels without the need to separate hydrogen.

Maine Research Institutions Named To WHOI-Led Partnership

October 1, 2009 — via Seadiscovery

NOAA created the Cooperative Institute for the North Atlantic Region, which includes two of Maine's top marine research institutions. The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) in Portland and the University of Maine (UMaine) School of Marine Sciences in Orono will join three other nationally recognized research centers in this landmark marine partnership. The Cooperative Institute brings academic and independent scientists together with federal researchers to dramatically increase understanding of how the marine ecosystem off the northeastern United States functions.