Coordination of Experiments Using AUVs at the South Florida Test Facility

Abstract

The long-term goal of this project was to provide for ship time to support two experiments using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). The purpose of these experiments is to provide new scientific information on the performance of acoustic mine hunting sensors and AUV communication systems as well as to demonstrate the capabilities and limitations of AUVs, especially in the near shore environment. The first experiment proposes the deployment of an AUV and multiple sensor systems in adverse weather conditions. The second experiment proposes the use of multiple low-cost vehicles to detect and map targets in a specific area. These experiments are planned to take place in the South Florida Test Facility (SFTF), which is located just south of the Fort Lauderdale inlet. This proposal is for the cost of the infrastructure (range costs and ship time) to carry out this work. Proposals from individual investigators will include more details on the scientific objectives of the experiments. This effort was expanded to include part of the development of the underwater communications infrastructure in the enhancement program for SFTF, which is known as the South Florida Ocean Measurement Center (SFOMC) program. In SFOMC, a number of infrastructure enhancements to SFTF have been approved for installation in approximately 20 meters of water, including the development and installation of environmental arrays, underwater acoustic communications systems, and an underwater dock for AUV long-term operations. A critical part of this effort to be addressed by this expansion is the development of the hard wire communications and power link from the SFTF shore site to the offshore, underwater node that serves as a gathering point for the above mentioned additions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1998
Accession Number
ADA552546

Entities

People

  • Samuel Smith
  • Stanley Dunn
  • Stewart Glegg

Organizations

  • Florida Atlantic University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Communications
  • Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
  • Buildings And Structures
  • Chemistry
  • Communication Systems
  • Deployment
  • Engineering
  • Environment
  • Infrastructure
  • Measurement
  • Oceans
  • Shores
  • Test Facilities
  • Underwater Acoustic Communications
  • Underwater Communications
  • Underwater Vehicles
  • Vehicles

Readers

  • Coastal and Marine Engineering/Sediment Transport/Hydraulic Engineering
  • Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.
  • Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Autonomous Capabilities and Mission Reconnaissance.