Unmanned Ocean Vehicles
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From the President
Advances in computers, global communications and the miniaturization of sensors enable a small marine vehicle to carry an extensive data collection package and transmit that data to shore. By scavenging energy from the environment, UOVs can carry this capability to the far reaches of the world’s oceans, or establish networks of vehicles off the coast or in high interest areas, and remain at sea for months at a time. Ocean going ships are capable of operating freely over large areas with great persistence. Most ships are built for specific missions. One or several ships can cover an area. But a finite number of ships can only cover a small part of the relatively near- infinite expanse of the world’s oceans and coastlines. Oceanographers, Security Forces (Navies and Coast Guards), Climatologists, and other fleet operators have more missions and needs than they can afford. No fleet operator has enough ships to do all that is asked or desired. Unmanned surface vehicles can never replace manned ships. But as low-cost, persistent, mini-ships, energy scavenging USVs can greatly expand the coverage of fleet operators. USV(Energy Scavenging) can significantly expand ocean coverage by deploying knowledge-gathering platforms in the thousands at the cost of one ship. This bold statement points to a different way for conducting ocean monitoring and data collection. But it could be a reality. A small marine vehicle is not complex and sophisticated. If properly designed and assembly-line produced, UOVs are capable of deploying persistent sensor packages in vast numbers, at low cost, for any ocean application. Our vision is an environmentally benign network of vehicles that can finally begin to blanket the globe for observing ocean conditions in a way that has to now been unimaginable. |