Acquisition of an Upgraded Underwater Acoustic Communication System

Abstract

Oceanographic measurements are often made in remote and hostile environments. Acoustic communication devices exist that can transmit data through the water, such that an insitu instrument at depth can be interrogated remotely from a ship at the surface without physically recovering the instrumentation. The principal investigators are presently using this technology in one ONR-funded project and three others. Their single ship-side unit of the existing system is facing technical obsolescence issues as well as scheduling conflicts between the needs of the multiple projects. Procurement of another system, comprised of both a ship-side unit with firmware upgrades to resolve the technical incompatibilities and a single matching underwater unit, will eliminate risk to the ONR project as well as future work during the expected instrument life of 10 years. This will enhance the ONR work by reducing data gaps and accelerating access to complete data from deployed instrumentation. In addition, a new teaching opportunity in the field of acoustics will be opened up for oceanography students by making the unit available for an existing class taught by the principal investigators, where students go out to sea on a research vessel for hands-on research.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Jul 10, 2018
Source ID
N000141812344

Entities

People

  • Uwe Send

Organizations

  • Office of Naval Research
  • United States Navy
  • University of California, San Diego

Tags

Readers

  • Oceanography.
  • Systems Analysis and Design
  • Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Autonomous Capabilities and Mission Reconnaissance.