auvs

Long-range undersea robot does its own research

A new breed of undersea robot promises to give oceanographers a deeper understanding of ocean life by going faster, farther, and longer than its predecessors--and by doing a little thinking all on its own.

Scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute say their newest autonomous underwater vehicle, called Tethys, introduces a new class of AUV that will take their oceanic research to a whole new level.

The two types of AUVs that researchers have relied on in the past both had their drawbacks. Propeller-driven vehicles could travel at a relatively quick pace and carry big payloads but could only be out at sea for a few days. Another type, called gliders, could endure weeks-long expeditions but were seriously lacking in the speed category. Traditional gliders top out at about 0.5 mph, according to the team's statement. … Read more

At Woods Hole, conquering the deep ocean

WOODS HOLE, Mass.--Although crews have managed to shut off--for now, at least--the flood of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, it is virtually certain that ongoing cleanup work will keep the concept of deep-sea science in the public's eye for some time.

That could be good news for the scientists and researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) here, one of the world's leading repositories of across-the-board ocean expertise, and the developers of a stunning collection of hardware and software tools designed to probe the countless mysteries of the deep.

I've come here as part … Read more

Robot hovers underwater

A new autonomous underwater vehicle created by engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is able to hover over a specific position in the ocean even in the face of currents.

How'd they do it? In a word: thrusters.

The Odyssey IV, which was developed at the MIT Sea Grant Program's Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Laboratory, uses a combination of fins and thrusters on both ends of the robot. It allows it to act more like a helicopter than a propelled glider. The thrusters can also propel the Odyssey IV as fast as two meters per second.

The small robust AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle) … Read more

iRobot sets sights at sea

iRobot has secured exclusive commercial rights to develop an unmanned sea-faring robot from a group at the University of Washington.

The Bedford, Mass.-based company made the announcement Tuesday at the annual symposium for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).

Specifically, the agreement is to commercialize an AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) called the Seaglider.

The Seaglider was developed by the Applied Physics Laboratory and the School of Oceanography at the University of Washington in conjunction with the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research, which funded the initial project.

iRobot believes the Seaglider has military application … Read more

Navy seeks 'kamikaze' robot to clear mines

Today, sussing out bombs on land and from the air is a routine chore for robots in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now the U.S. Navy wants a smart class of robo-fish to do the same in some of the world's most dangerous waterways.

One contender for that task is the Transphibian, a 3-foot-long autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) created by Durham, N.C.-based Nekton Research. The Transphibian is designed to identify mines and map the seabed by swimming and crawling through places where troops or ships are likely to follow. Soon, the company hopes to field a type of &… Read more

An inaugural journey to the Arctic floor

On Sunday, an international team of scientists and engineers embarked for a place that has been cut off from Earth's other ecosystems for 26 million years.

Along with two autonomous underwater robots, the Gakkel Ridge expedition team has set out to explore and find life on the Arctic Ocean floor at the North Pole.

The team, which includes scientists and engineers from Germany, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the United States, set sail from Svalbard, an island near the Arctic Circle, for the Gakkel Ridge, the deepest and most remote part of the Artic Ocean.

The landmark expedition, which will … Read more