Landing the Big One

Landing the Big One

Monday, April 16, 2007

Working with a UUV


Stevens Institute of Technology will work with an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle reported here:
Developed by Nekton Research, which is based out of North Carolina, the UUV is scheduled to arrive at Stevens by May.

Once it's here, the four foot-long security device, which weighs just less than 20 pounds, will be deployed in the water by hand and controlled through a computer at Stevens that will monitor its environment as it roams the waves of the Hudson.

Labeled the "Ranger" by Nekton, the device will travel at a speed of eight to 10 miles per hour, with the capability of submerging itself over 45 feet below the surface. The UUV will initially be tested in close proximity to the coast to master control over the device before it goes further into the Hudson.
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Once in the ocean, the device is designed to detect chemical changes through censors [sic- should be "sensors"], then relay the information back to a control center in Stevens through cellular and wireless signals.
More on the Ranger from Nekton's site here. And a NOAA report of experiments with UUVs (or AUVs) here. And a report from Boston University on Autonomous Mobile Robots(pdf) featuring, among other machines, the Nekton Ranger here.

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