AUTONOMOUS SURFACE VESSELS FOR AIRSEA FLUX AND SATELLITE

AUTONOMOUS SURFACE VESSELS FOR AIRSEA FLUX AND SATELLITE CALIBRATION / VALIDATION STUDIES • Phil Mc. Gillivary, USCG Icebreaker Science Liaison philip. a. mcgillivary@uscg. mil • Joeseph A. Curcio, Robotic Marine Systems jacurcio@att. net • Kevin Fall, Intel Research, Berkeley kevin. fall@intel. com • Andy Maffei, WHOI amaffei@whoi. edu • Kurt Schwehr, Center for Coastal Ocean Mapping, UNH kurt. schwehr@ccom. unh. edu • Chris Kitts, Mechanical Engineering, Santa Clara University ckitts@me. scu. edu • Bob Twiggs, Stanford University btwiggs@stanford. edu

Why a Self-Positioning Buoy? • Eliminate cost, hassles of cable, swivels, weights, chain, etc. • Simplify/eliminate deployment and servicing costs (ie don’t absolutely require ships) • Reposition automatically or at will to track ‘events’ (eg spring bloom, fronts, etc. ) • Redeployable without waiting for ships to be available, no long periods without data • Better for shallow waters, harbors, port security concerns

Why a Self-Positioning Buoy? cont’d • US Ocean Commission and NSF Committee on Ocean Sciences at the New Millennium both call for sustained global observations • Currently @2400+ ARGO floats, at @$30 K/ea w deployment cost, @800/yr=$24 million (3 yr life) • Lots of Homeland Security port & harbor uses • Ability to coordinate with each other and act in ‘ensemble’ (mini-Armada) precise GPS positioning mode • Cost is @half that of Navy Sonobuoys which are considered expendable • Problems w stability, etc. , can be overcome

What sorts of ASVs are out there now? Do. D/ONR 2005 contracts: 3 companies, all Do. D contractors, so…$$$ Aluminum multi-hulls, COTS, $$$: Do. D NASA Adaptive Sensor Fleet OASIS Experimental versions: MBARI/SCU Robo-kayak, COTS, cheap hull Fiberglass hulls, moderately expensive

Scientific Applications and Research Associates (SARA, Inc. ) Do. D Gatekeeper offering w MHD power

U. Michigan Environmental Monitoring Buoy, part of joint Sea. Land. Aire Do. D Gatekeeper Buoy project

Falmouth Scientific Solar AUV technology basis for Do. D Gatekeeper Buoy

Searobotics, Inc. has several types of aluminum-hulled monohulls, catamarans, and multi-hulls, including their High Speed Trimaran shown below, endurance=hours only

Searobotics Self-righting Monohull, intended for multibeam, other detailed work, obstacle avoidance, 10 hrs @2 kts

Searobotics Unmanned Survey Vehicle

NASA ASF OASIS (Adaptive Sensor Fleet, Ocean Atmosphere Sensor Integrated System) • OASIS intended as @$50 K ocean platform for sat cal/val

Monohull vs SWATH movement in seas (from Mahacek, 2005)

MBARI / Santa Clara Univ. “WASP” SWATH ASV

Robo-kayak from Maribotics @4 month endurance, @$30 K, real-time multi-vessel GPS positioning

CTD Selection Sea. Bird Electronics SBE-52 • Scientific Data Priority • Power Requirements • Expandable, DO, Turbidity Sea. Bird Electronics SBE-49

Winch System • 100 Meter cable • 4 Strands • Modified COTS Unit • Encoder Feedback • Level Winding System

Kayak Modifications

Beta. Batteries are Tritium-based, 12. 3 yr ½-life; require intimate contact to work, last 12 -20 years. Three sizes, one @ same size as D cell, 25 u. W initially, 12 u. W after 12 yrs

PICOSAT built by Naval Academy Polar orbit provides 90 min return, 5 -10 min transmission time

PICOSAT footprint

Delay Tolerant Networking [DTN] Wireless Protocol • Funded by DARPA, NSA, NASA (for Interplanetary Internet) • Backed by Intel, Microsoft, others • Purpose: communication in noisy or interrupted environments • Achieves increased distance and speed for wireless communications (10 -20 X for both)

Automatic Identification System (AIS) • Joint federal initiative by DHS, NOAA, others (eg Navy) • Intended to allow automated info transfer on vessels before entering port to facilitate security checks • Didn’t initially include either buoys or automated surface vessels: does now • Helps to be ‘legal’