Autonomous undersea vehicles and acoustical oceanography

Abstract

Autonomous undersea vehicles (AUVs) have been actively increasing in their capabilities over the past 10 years. Recent developments in the academic sector have transitioned to become commercially available technologies which are now available for general use in academic, commercial and military applications. The Oceanographic Systems Laboratory at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has been a leader in the development of robotic vehicles, with most development funding coming from the Office of Naval Research. The result of this development effort has been the REMUS family of AUV systems. Originally designed primarily for shallow water hydrographic reconnaissance and mine‐hunting, these systems have since been adapted and utilized for many other applications including deep ocean search and survey, physical oceanography, and more recently acoustical oceanography. New, larger systems contain sufficient energy and payload capabilities to tow long hydrophone arrays, and can carry large projectors allowing active and passive techniques to be used in unmanned, un‐tethered systems at any depth in the oceans. Recent developments in these unmanned vehicle systems will be discussed along with new payload capabilities now under development for acoustical oceanography.