Shearwater - A Wing in Ground Effect Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Scaled Demonstration
Abstract
Today~s Navy operates and makes decisions in near real time. The demand for current and timely information need in preparation for military missions or during active operations is paramount. Present day autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and glider operations have shown the usefulness of autonomous systems but as the Navy moves towards the future the need for greater spatial coverage and temp"oral capabilities is increasing. In addition, the need for 3 dimensional data, above and below the sea surface, is growing as autono"mous marine systems now include air and surface vehicles working in coordination with subsea assets. The ability to respond faster than a ship while reducing risk to personnel and other more valuable assets is very desirable. To deliver these features a new type of autonomous system is required. The PI proposes to explore the creation of a new class of AUV through a demonstration unit. Called" Shearwater, this scale model will demonstrate that a unique design is capable of performing flight and subsurface missions in one s""ystem. Although outside the scope of this proposal, Shearwater will show a single system could provide reduced time to deployment an""d, if instrumented correctly, deliver more timely information at higher resolution for the future Navy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 26, 2018
- Source ID
- N000141812169
Entities
People
- William Kirkwood
Organizations
- Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy