At AUVFest 2008, a 200 x 4 meter area of the USS Saratoga hull was surveyed in approximately 15 minutes. Several mine-like objects were successful recognized, as shown in this raw DIDSON Sonar data.
Beyond performing ship hull inspections, the HAUV which is designed to offer superior performance in low visibility and/or dangerous areas while performing long and/or mundane tasks will be suited to accomplish a variety of jobs in the mainstream commercial market, including: ship hull inspections; industry Inspection Repair Maintenance (IRM) missions for offshore rigs; high value commercial vessels, port facilities and offshore structures such as LNG mooring systems; underwater inspection in lieu of dry docking (UWILD); as well as
dockside, pier and harbor bottom survey. Importantly, the vehicle is outfitted with the sensors and capability for change detection, a crucial capability in both security and maintenance surveys. While the current vehicle is suitable for commercial applications, Kelly said it would be more reasonable to outfit the vehicle with different, more commercially suitable sensors for specific missions. Bluefin is currently working on its own commercial demonstrator HAUV, which is scheduled to be ready for demonstrations to the
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Marine Technology Reporter 35
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