UUVs 2
Wednesday 10th November 2010, 1600hrs–1730hrs
Chaired by Radamanthys Fountoulakis A New Capability for Submarines: SubSEAL Mr Fredrik Hillelson, Defence Consulting Europe, Sweden The next generation of submarines is designed for a more flexible use, including intelligence missions and Special Operations. The SubSEAL is designed to be transported inside or outside a submarine and operate from the submarine in a flexible way. This is a global design trend and the first example is Kockums next submarine, A26, recently ordered by Sweden for delivery in 2018. The SubSEAL has a modular design; the craft can either transport a group of combat divers in the SDV-module or operate autonomously for intelligence missions or MCM operations with the RECON-module mounted on the craft. The same craft platform is used for the various applications and thus offers a cost effective solution for single or multi-role requirements. The RECON-module includes the core of the autonomous system as well as extra batteries and one-shot torpedoes. The SDV-module contains room for four divers (including the pilot) with personal equipment and up to 400 liters of neutrally balanced cargo. Thus a new and flexible capability for next the generation of submarines is achievable. Taking AUV Technology to the Next Level Mr William Senke, Lockheed Martin, United States Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) have come a long way in the past decade, establishing a solid track record in the defense, scientific, and commercial markets. While AUVs are maturing at a rapid pace, AUV technologies must be taken to a whole new level of technical maturity in order to realize their full potential to reduce costs, improve performance, and reduce operating risks. Lockheed Martin is applying its extensive systems development experience and leading edge technologies to develop robust new capabilities that will enable end users to capture the game-changing potential of AUVs. Targeted technology gaps for the near term include: real-time feature recognition and change detection; feature-based guidance and navigation; simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM); adaptive path and task planning; and subsea homing and docking. The Marlin class of AUVs will incorporate these key technologies along with emphasis on a fault tolerant, redundant architecture and a large payload capacity to increase mission success. Lockheed Martin is poised to deliver a robust AUV capability to the defense, scientific, and commercial markets, and will employ the Marlin AUV to demonstrate measured, incremental steps in capability. Autonomous Launch And Recovery System (AutoLARS) for AUVs Dr. Alain Maguer, NATO Undersea Research Centre, Italy Sagar Pai/Mandar Chitre, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Manlio DeBoni, AGEOTEC, Italy; Piero Guerrini/Jim Osse, NATO Undersea Research Centre, Italy The traditional recovery method for AUVs is to have a ‘fixed’ capture device and steer or otherwise command the AUV to enter the recovery device. The recovery device is typically mounted on the stern of a support vessel, where the AUV is manually grabbed and a recovery line fed into an articulated recovery ramp. Fixed, bottom-mounted capture devices have been built as well, where the AUV actively homes into a stationary device autonomously. The NATO Undersea Research Centre in collaboration with the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Italian ROV company AGEOTEC is designing an Autonomous Launch And Recovery System (AutoLARS) that is the inverse of the typical method. AutoLARS is a mobile, active recovery system that requires minimal modification to any AUV or glider beyond affixing a generic transponder. The recovery method involves a free swimming ROV-like capture hoop whose position is actively guided by asynchronous tracking of the AUV. At the end of a mission, the AUV must be programmed to steer a constant heading and maintain a constant depth. The capture hoop, acting in effect like a baseball catcher’s mitt, adjusts to position itself in front on the free swimming AUV using four or more ROV-style thrusters mounted on the hoop. The hoop is connected by an umbilical cable to the surface support ship, which ultimately could be an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV), thereby achieving our goal of a fully autonomous recovery capability. The paper will present a detailed description of the AutoLARS system and results of at-sea trials that are planned for the summer of 2010. The AUVs to be recovered at sea will be the REMUS and the Graaltech eFolaga hybrid AUV.
MAST timetable
|
