Micro-AUV tech designed to keep secret underwater missions under wraps
While AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles) are often used for scientific studies, they're sometimes also utilized in more secretive applications, such as surveillance and reconnaissance. A new system helps hide their location, by having them deploy a micro-AUV.
Even though some AUVs are capable of travelling deep underwater for days at a time, they still have to surface whenever it's time to transmit gathered data to their users – this is because radio waves don't travel well through the water. While the craft is floating at the surface, there's a chance that it could be spotted by the people who are being spied on.
That's where the micro-AUV comes in.
It was designed by British company ecoSUB Robotics, and has been experimentally installed on an existing hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered Solus-LR AUV, made by Canada's Cellula Robotics. The latter craft can descend to a depth of 3,000 m (9,843 ft), travel at a top speed of 2 meters (6.6 ft) per second, and cover a distance of up to 2,000 km (1,243 miles) without refuelling.
In a nutshell, the micro-AUV allows the Solus-LR to transmit data without surfacing, as the smaller craft can be deployed by the larger one while it's still submerged.
Instead of just popping straight to the surface like a buoy, the micro-AUV independently travels underwater for up to several miles – away from the Solus-LR – before surfacing. Because it's so much smaller than its host vehicle, it's much less likely to be spotted. Even if it is seen, however, its surface location won't give away the Solus-LR's current underwater location.
Additionally, it simply sinks to the seabed after making its transmission, so it can't be followed back to its host. And yes, that does mean it becomes a form of marine litter.
In a test of the system conducted last month at Indian Arm inlet in the city of Vancouver, the specially equipped Solus-LR successfully deployed its micro-AUV while submerged and underway. That micro-AUV proceeded to navigate to a different location, where it surfaced and transmitted a status message to an offsite command center via Iridium satellite communications.
The technology was developed by Cellula and ecoSUB as part of their work with the SeaWolf AUV Project, run by Australian defence company Trusted Autonomous Systems.
Source: Cellula Robotics
Teknolojia ya Micro-AUV imeundwa kuweka ujumbe wa siri wa chini ya maji chini ya vifungo, wakati AUV (magari ya chini ya maji ya kujitegemea) hutumiwa mara nyingi kwa masomo ya kisayansi, wakati mwingine hutumiwa katika matumizi ya siri zaidi, kama vile ufuatiliaji na upelelezi. Mfumo mpya husaidia kuficha eneo lao, kwa kuwafanya watumie micro-AUV. Ingawa baadhi ya AUVs ni uwezo wa kusafiri kina chini ya maji kwa siku kwa wakati, bado wana uso wakati wowote ni wakati wa kutuma data zilizokusanywa kwa watumiaji wao - hii ni kwa sababu mawimbi ya redio si kusafiri vizuri kupitia maji. Wakati ndege hiyo inapoelea juu ya ardhi, kuna uwezekano kwamba inaweza kuonekana na watu wanaofuatiliwa. Hapa ndipo gari ndogo-ndogo la AUV linapoingia. "Kampuni ya Uingereza ya ""EcoSUB Robotics"" imetoa taarifa ya kuanzishwa kwa ""Solus-LR"" ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia ya teknolojia." Ndege hizo zinaweza kushuka hadi kina cha mita 3,000, kusafiri kwa mwendo wa mita mbili kwa sekunde, na kufikia umbali wa kilomita 2,000 bila kujaza mafuta. Kwa ufupi, Micro-AUV inaruhusu Solus-LR kusambaza data bila kuonekana, kwani chombo kidogo kinaweza kutumiwa na kikubwa wakati bado kiko chini ya maji. Badala ya tu popping moja kwa moja kwa uso kama buoy, micro-AUV kujitegemea kusafiri chini ya maji kwa hadi maili kadhaa <unk> mbali na Solus-LR <unk> kabla ya kuonekana. Kwa sababu ni ndogo sana kuliko chombo chake cha mwenyeji, ni vigumu sana kuonekana. Hata kama inaonekana, hata hivyo, eneo lake la uso halitatoa eneo la sasa la chini ya maji la Solus-LR. Kwa kuongezea, huanguka kwenye sakafu ya bahari baada ya kuambukizwa, kwa hiyo haiwezi kufuatiliwa hadi kwa mwenyeji wake. Na ndiyo, hiyo inamaanisha inakuwa aina ya taka ya baharini. Katika jaribio la mfumo uliofanywa mwezi uliopita katika Indian Arm Inlet katika jiji la Vancouver, Solus-LR iliyo na vifaa maalum ilifanikiwa kupeleka micro-AUV yake wakati wa kuzama na kuendelea. Ndege hiyo ndogo ilisafiri hadi mahali pengine, ambapo ilionekana na kutuma ujumbe wa hali kwa kituo cha amri cha nje kupitia mawasiliano ya satelaiti ya Iridium. Teknolojia hiyo ilitengenezwa na kampuni ya Cellula na ecoSUB kama sehemu ya kazi yao na mradi wa SeaWolf AUV, unaofanywa na kampuni ya ulinzi ya Australia Trusted Autonomous Systems. Chanzo: Cellula Robotics