Tech Scouting – Micro Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV)

Evaluation of Technical Quality:

The evaluation criteria for this CTI is based on the proof-of-concept meeting the requirements specified in the tasking OR by demonstrating a subset of the requirements with a feasible plan to meet all requirements in a future proof-of-concept or prototype.

Task: 

Identify and procure compact (“micro”) autonomous vehicles or underwater drones capable of gathering environmental measurements in the ocean for test and evaluation.

Requirements include:

• Maximum ocean depth of 100 Meters or greater
• Positional accuracy within 5 meters or better
• Surface range 10km or more
• Portable for small boat work, diver-deployable, can be carried on commercial aircraft in checked luggage
• • • Weight 5kg or less
    • Length 100cm or less
    • Diameter 10cm or less
• Rugged enough for surf zone work, drops from ship deck (i.e. 3-5-meter height)
• User can customize missions
• Open source software that can be integrated with existing and future command and control interfaces
• Interface and communications between multiple units
• Sensors must include
• • • Conductivity (salinity)
    • Temperature
    • Depth

“Nice to have” sensors:

• Passive acoustics (hydrophone) integrated into vehicle
• Chlorophyll
• pH
• Dissolved oxygen

Deliverables:

Identify potential solutions and associated vendors that can address this need. Coordinate calls to review costs, timetable and logistics.