FAU and Lockheed to Develop Autonomous Mooring Buoy System

Florida Atlantic University(FAU) and Lockheed Martin have entered into an exclusive license agreement to develop and produce a rapidly-deployable and autonomous mooring buoy system for military and scientific uses. The new autonomous mooring buoy system -- which incorporates an anchor, a combination anchor/air brake and a flotation buoy -- will allow sensors mounted on a floating buoy to be more successfully deployed on a station after being launched from either aircraft, submarines or ships. The buoy's missions could include: submarine detection and location; meteorological and oceanographic measurements; autonomous underwater vehicle communication; and underwater navigation and positioning.

The system was designed by researchers from FAU and the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), supported by grants from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Ocean Engineering Program, managed by Dr. Tom Swean, ONR program manager for Ocean Engineering & Marine Systems. FAU and NAVSEA have filed a joint patent application. FAU and Lockheed Martin will work closely with key U.S. Navy offices and government laboratories to further develop the system and to identify other potential applications.

Previous buoy deployment and mooring technologies have had significant limitations, including non-conformity to Navy buoy size standards, parachute entanglements during air deployment, short periods of operation, and anchors that only work well in specific sea bed conditions. The lightweight, compact FAU/Navy-developed module conforms to U.S. Government size standards and is capable of air deployment, as well as autonomous self-mooring in depths between 30 and 650 feet. The system also can anchor in various bottom types (including sand, mud or rock), operate for over three months, and support different types of mooring lines.