University of Southampton and Planet Ocean win Innovate UK funding in Autonomous Systems

Planet Ocean Ltd . and its partners, the University, the National Oceanographic Centre and ASV Ltd., will be collaborating to develop a low-cost Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). Their project proposal 'Launch and Recovery of Multiple Autonomous Underwater Vehicles from an Unmanned Surface Vessel', was one of eight projects awarded funding in the call.

This technology will enable SHOAL deployment of multiple low-cost unmanned underwater vehicles enabling increased spatial and temporal resolution of small and large scale ocean phenomena. One major advantage of this technology is the ability to deploy from an unmanned surface vehicle. This  eliminates the dependence on expensive ship time  thus significantly reducing the cost of at sea deployment. The system will have applications in scientific discovery as well as in the defence sector, and in oil spill monitoring.

Dr Sally Bennett is the Principal Investigator  from the University of Southampton on the project. Sally is a New Frontiers Fellow in the University's Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, and she is based at the Boldrewood Innovation Campus. Her speciality is experimental and numerical hydrodynamics. She and her fellow researchers will contribute expertise in experimental hydrodynamics testing and 3D printing technology.