Kongsberg Maritime offers MUNIN unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) for 24-hour offshore surveillance
KONGSBERG, Norway, 6 Jan. 2014.Unmanned systems experts at Kongsberg Maritime AS in Kongsberg, Norway, are introducing the MUNIN unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) for offshore surveillance and survey.
The MUNIN UUV is designed to collect high resolution sonar data geo-referenced by a survey grade positioning system. It has a modular structure that provides the ability to install extra batteries to extend operational scope for missions lasting to 24 hours at depths nearly to 5,000 feet.
The UUV is 10 to 14 feet long depending on configuration, 14 inches in diameter, and weighs 662 pounds in air. Company designers have combined their experience in developing and manufacturing the HUGIN and REMUS UUVs.
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MUNIN can carry a subsea sensor payload. Its rigid design integrates the navigation systems and acoustic payload sensors in one mechanical housing.
Its S-44 sensor payload includes a custom version of the EM2040 multibeam echo sounder operating at 200-400 kHz with a 1-by-1-degree beam width with a swath of 120 degrees. It also has an EdgeTech side scan sonar operating at 230/540 kHz and forward-looking sonar with advanced terrain following and collision avoidance.
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Also included is an NBOS conductivity and temperature sensor with specifiable sub-bottom profiler and still image cameras. Communication is via Kongsberg Maritime's cNODE acoustic command and data link, Wi-Fi and Iridium.
The Kongsberg Maritime NavP aided inertial navigation system (AINS) with Honeywell HG9900 inertial measurement unit (IMU) have within the navigation system alongside optional cNODE and HiPAP for acoustic positioning.
"The offshore survey industry has long sought a capable tool that can be operated from smaller vessels," says Geir Schmidt, vice president of UUVs at Kongsberg Maritime.
In Norse mythology, MUNIN (Muninn) and HUGIN (Huginn) are a pair of ravens that fly around the world of Midgard, collecting information for the Norse God Odin.
For more information contact Kongsberg Maritime online at www.km.kongsberg.com.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
