New Seaglider Profile for Added Capacity
iRobot has introduced new Seaglider fairings that increases payload capacity while reducing total drag on the vehicle. The rounded and tapered or "ogive" aft fairings increase the Seaglider's payload volume by 650% to more than 21,000cm3 and doubles the payload mass carrying capacity to 4kg. This development effort has led to the integration of more advanced sensors and opens the door to future integration efforts and additional capabilities.
Seaglider has six payload ports that accommodate a wide range of sensors. The greater overall payload capacity of the new ogive fairing enables the integration of more numerous and larger payloads including a small, light weight and low-power consuming Nortek current profiler, Imagenex echo sounder, and pumped versions of the Sea-Bird CTD and dissolved oxygen sensors.
The Imagenex integrated echo sounder will be used to support Antarctic research conducted by the University of East Anglia (UEA). It will be calibrated on the iRobot Seaglider for krill biomass estimation, according to professor Karen Heywood from the University of East Anglia.
More than 135 Seaglider UUVs have been delivered to customers worldwide, including the US Navy, government agencies and research organisations. Seaglider has been deployed in a range of environments around the world, performing missions in the tropics and under polar ice, in freshwater and saltwater. In the future, Seagliders will be deployed on missions that last a year or more and cover more than 6,000 miles.
