Hybrid deep-diving UUV blends autonomous and tethered operations to explore the ocean's twilight zone
WOODS HOLE, Mass. – In late June researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) joined engineers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to test a new breed of unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) designed to study the mesopelagic, also known as the ocean's twilight zone. Phys Org reports. Continue reading original article
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
7 Aug. 2019 -- This deep-diving UUV, the Mesobot, is designed to track and study swimming and drifting animals as deep as 3,300 feet for as long as 24 hours at a stretch.
The Mesobot is a hybrid between a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), which is powered and controlled using a tether attached to a surface ship, and an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), which is programmed at the surface and operates without human intervention while underwater.
At the beginning of each dive, operators control Mesobot from the surface like an ROV, using a thin fiber-optic tether. The researchers then release the tether and spool it back onto the ship, while the robot continues on its own as an AUV.
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John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics
