SeaRobotics Corporation has delivered the first Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) in their 11-m hull series to the University of Rhode Island, through funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The long endurance, robust hull design is designed to operate through Sea State 5 for up to 30 days. The USV—dubbed SCOAP, "Surveying Coastal Ocean Autonomous Profiler"—will perform a variety of data acquisition tasks to support material transport investigations as well as multidisciplinary studies for coastal oceanographers.
"We are pleased to be involved in this aggressive NSF project, which will push the envelope of unattended operations in navigable waters, while acquiring valuable data. Improvements in affordable situation awareness will open the door to a variety of long duration coastal surveys," stated Don Darling, President of SeaRobotics.
The company has recently extended its standard product line of USVs to include both 5.7-m and 11-m systems in addition to adding arctic operations to their USV experience base.
SeaRobotics specializes in small, smart vessels that are remotely or autonomously operated. Its clients include major military and commercial organizations, both U.S. and foreign. SeaRobotics' marine survey software interfaces with most data acquisition hardware, software, and sensing systems to produce multi-spectral, DGPS-stamped data for survey, research, or surveillance efforts. Applications for SeaRobotics vessels range from bathymetric and hydrographic surveys to coastal, harbor, and riverine surveillance. Many SeaRobotics vessels are small, modular, and man-portable, allowing for rapid deployment in remote areas or deployment by larger vessels, and its command and control systems are user-friendly and compact, allowing for backpack mobilization.
