Autonomous Surface Vehicle

Thales, ASV Develop Unmanned Minewarfare Vehicle

Thales UK has signed a contract with Autonomous Surface Vehicles Ltd (ASV Ltd) to develop a re-configurable Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) to meet the challenges of future off-board Mine Countermeasures (MCM) operations. The vessel has been jointly designed to meet a number of key requirements and drivers: Deployable from military platforms, craft of opportunity and from shore/harbour Air transportable Payload flexibility for all MCM systems – unmanned underwater vehicles, towed sonar, disposal systems, minesweeping Stable platform with excellent slow speed and towing capabilities Highly reliable & cost effective   The low signature USV, which is 11.5m in length and 3.6m in beam, will have a maximum speed of around 25 knots. The vehicle is now under construction and will be undergoing acceptance trials later this year. A series of payload trials will be conducted from early 2013 onwards, drawing on experience gained in previous off-board system programmes.   ASV Ltd is a UK company and part of Global Fusion, a privately owned international marine services group. Formed in 1998, ASV Ltd provides rugged, reliable and effective unmanned systems using cutting edge marine technology from its operating base near Portsmouth.   Dan Hook, Managing Director at ASV, in welcoming this contract says: “We are pleased to be developing such an advanced capability with Thales UK and are confident in the system’s performance for the wide range of

ROBOBOATS: Autonomous Boats Aid Maritime Security

The theme of the 4th International RoboBoat Competition, sponsored by The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Foundation and the Office of Naval Research (ONR), was “The Four Elements.” Teams of students designed and built autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) that faced challenges involving earth, air, fire and water. The competition was held at The Founders Inn and Spa, Virginia Beach, VA, June 8-12

NATO Center Tests Wave Glider in ASW Exercise

An energy-efficient robotic vehicle debuts as a communications gateway of an experimental network developed by CMRE within the Proud Manta ‘13 framework. The Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) Exercise Proud Manta ‘13 (POMA ‘13), which includes participating ships and aircraft from ten NATO nations, will be held from 23 February to 6 March off the coast of Sicily. As in 2012, the 2013 POMA includes again major scientific tests during the exercise: scientists from the NATO Center

Swedish Navy Receives AUV's

During November and December 2011 the Swedish Navy received the last two of four state of-the-art AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) from the Danish company EIVA a/s. The AUVs are equipped with advanced sensors in the form of sonars and underwater cameras and they are designed to operate autonomously underwater following a mission route planned ahead. There is a multitude of purposes for which the AUVs can be used

ATLAS North America SeaFox

The SeaFox mine neutralization system, delivered by ATLAS North America (ATLAS NA), a subsidiary of the German-based ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH, once again proved its effectiveness in performing unmanned mine countermeasure missions, when participating in Trident Warrior 2012 U.S. Navy Fleet Experiment, July 9-20.   During the Fleet Experiment, Textron/AAI used its Fleet Class Common Unmanned Surface Vessel (CUSV) with a L-3 Klein 5000 V2 Side Scan Sonar to investigate a suspected minefield

Deep-Sea Robot Lost at Sea

A deep-sea exploration robot — one of the first successful submersible vehicles that was both unmanned and untethered to surface ships — was lost at sea Friday, March 5, on a research expedition off the coast of Chile. The 15-year-old Autonomous Benthic Explorer, affectionately nicknamed ABE, was launched late on the night of Thursday, March 4, and had reached the seafloor to begin its 222nd research dive when, in the early hours of Friday morning

California Polytechnic Orders Second Iver2 AUV

OceanServer Technology announced that Cal Poly has agreed to purchase a second Iver2 AUV for research purposes. The first Iver2 AUV was purchased in 2008 and has been used extensively for a variety of research applications including one project that required the vehicle to operate under the ice in the Arctic. The new vehicle will also be a multi use platform in a number of research efforts including marine life tracking (such as sharks)

Atlas Elektronik Demos New MCM Tech

ATLAS ELEKTRONIK has set a milestone in mine countermeasures (MCM) technology. With the C-IMCMS, the company has presented another first: an MCM system that operates exclusively with unmanned units. For the first time, the complete functional chain of unmanned mine countermeasures – both for minehunting and for influence sweeping – was demonstrated by means of remote-controlled or autonomous systems. The missions of all vehicles used were planned

Teledyne Completes Acquisition of RESON

Teledyne Technologies Incorporated announced today that it has completed the acquisition of RESON. RESON, headquartered in Slangerup, Denmark, provides high-resolution marine acoustic imaging and measurement solutions. The acquired company will operate under the name Teledyne RESON. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. With more than 30 years of experience and approximately 1,400 RESON echosounders sold worldwide

New Staff Member at Hydroid

Kathy Forrester joins Hydroid, Inc., manufacturer of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), as Marketing Coordinator. Forrester will support Hydroid’s marketing efforts by assisting in the planning, development and execution of the company’s marketing plan, with the goals of increasing sales and promoting the Hydroid brand and corporate culture. She has more than twenty years of marketing experience at firms including Sotheby’s International