New Solar AUV Trials

Falmouth Scientific, Inc has performed Seaweb trials of its Solar Powered AUV (SAUV) and reports excellent results. The Solar AUV successfully performed its mission and demonstrated its ability to be bi-directionally controlled and perform real-time data acquisition of underwater sensors using Freewave and Iridium communications. Falmouth Scientific developed and manufactured the Solar AUV under sub-contract from the Autonomous Undersea Systems Institute (AUSI) for the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The solar-powered vehicle has unlimited endurance and is capable of swimming at speeds of up to 3 knots and diving to 500 metre depths. The SAUV includes an FSI Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) sensor and has the space and power required for accommodating a variety of scientific payload packages, depending on user requirements. The standard communications package consists of integrated satellite, RF and underwater acoustic communications.