Unmanned Systems Technology 002 | Scion SA-400 | Commercial UAV Show report | Vision sensors | Danielson Trident I Security and safety systems | MIRA MACE | Additive manufacturing | Marine UUVs

76 S ubmarine designers across the world have for some time been using unmanned underwater systems for military applications such as mine clearance, exploiting the benefits of their smaller size and cost and autonomy to give a greater range than remotely operated craft. In recent years though the technology has crossed over into commercial applications such as surveying the sea floor, and it has also evolved to allow fleets of smaller systems to be created that can be connected together using underwater wireless links. It is not just the size of these systems that has changed but their shape, from remotely piloted submersibles in the 1990s to systems that are fully autonomous and that look like torpedoes. This new shape or ‘form factor’ makes it easier to transport and launch them from ships, aircraft and helicopters that already launch torpedoes, giving operators a lot more flexibility in how they store and launch the systems. It also creates less drag when they’re in the water which, with new and more efficient propulsion systems, allows them to be used for missions lasting for months at a time. Then, at the end of a mission, the craft’s programming tells it to return to a base or support vessel to recharge its batteries Torpedo-shaped autonomous underwater vehicles are taking over the oceans. Nick Flaherty reports on developments in the technology Spring 2015 | Unmanned Systems Technology Torpedo run UUV fleet of craft known as gliders, from the National Oceanography Centre