Nauticus Robotics Aquanaut Mk2 | Digest Commander. Many of Wayfinder’s worldmodel calculations rely on information from onboard odometry from vehicles such as the Aquanaut and on state estimation by the Helmsman. Wayfinder is also an AI system, in that it uses neural network processing to help with cognitive tasks such as object recognition and pose estimation. The job of the Loggerhead module is collection, visualisation and reporting of data such as runtime diagnostics and so on. Launch & recovery While the Aquanaut has traditional launch and recovery (L&R) interfaces so that it can be deployed from vessels of opportunity, the Hydronaut has a custom-built automated L&R system for the Aquanaut. It is designed to deploy and retrieve the underwater vehicle over the Hydronaut’s stern, and is certified to the DNVGL-ST-0378 standard. Its key mechanical components are a basket, a ‘cursor’ and an all-electric gantry crane, and a winch. The basket is a semi-enclosed structure, open at the back, and designed to protect the vehicle and guide it to its L&R depth. The cursor is a horizontal frame that attaches to the basket to support and guide it, and features guide wheels, guide sheaves for the two lifting cables, and centring devices to align the basket. The basket is fitted with bumpers to protect the vehicle, an integrated mechanical locking mechanism to secure the vehicle while it is inside, a ‘bullet’ to secure the basket and cursor in the crane’s hang-off lock, and interface points for a pair of lifting cables. The basket structure is made in two parts that can be separated to provide access to the Aquanaut for maintenance. The system also includes integrated load, speed and length readouts, and is prepared for active heave compensation as well as remote operation, the company says. The gantry crane transports the vehicle in its cage to and from the launch position over the stern. Driven by an electric motor, the crane travels back and forth on skid beams mounted on the Hydronaut’s deck. The mechanism also includes routing sheaves for the two lifting cables, a hang-off fail-safe lock for the cursor and the basket, integrated vertical cursor rails, and electrically tiltable cursor rail extensions with end stops. When extended over the stern, the cursor has a 3.3 m range of vertical travel. Early operations The Aquanaut’s development started in earnest following the first round of investment funding that Nauticus received from strategic partners in 2018. Design work focused initially on the electric manipulators, followed by the rest of the vehicle. The Aquanaut Mk2, as the designation suggests, is the second generation of the vehicle, three of which began commissioning exercises this April, followed by delivery to the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico to support customer operations. In June, Nauticus announced a contract with Brazilian oil & gas corporation Petrobras, under which the Aquanaut will use its supervised autonomy capabilities for inspection services in one of Petrobras’ deep water production fields. The vehicle is due to log about a month of subsea inspection time. Although the main focus has been on the energy sector, some technologies derived from the Aquanaut, including its command and control software, have attracted interest from the defence industry. In February 2022 for example, the US DoD’s Defense Innovation Unit commissioned Nauticus to convert an existing US Navy mine countermeasures platform into an untethered AUV under the Amphibious Autonomous Response Vehicle programme. The vehicle’s role is to identify and neutralise mines and other targets while keeping explosive ordnance disposal divers out of harm’s way. Nauticus expects both immediate and long-term demand in the offshore wind, oil & gas and security and defence sectors that could lead to the deployment of more than 350 Aquanauts. The company also anticipates opportunities in markets including support of data centres, autonomous shipping, aquaculture, telecoms, subsea mining and biotechnology. 113 Uncrewed Systems Technology | October/November 2023 Nauticus Robotics Aquanaut Mk2 AUV Length: 4.82 m Width: 2.03 m Height: 1.71 m Weight (in air): 4200 kg Payload capacity: 90 kg Depth rating: 3000 m Cruise speed: 3 knots Maximum speed: 6 knots Environmental performance: station-keeping in up to 1.5 knot lateral current Typical range: 140 km Maximum range: 250 km Runtime: 30 to 70 hours Battery capacity: 101.1 kWh Some key suppliers Inertial navigation system: iXblue Doppler velocity log: Nortek Water sensing system: AML Oceanographic Imaging sonar: Imaginex Location and tracking: Sonardyne Acoustic comms: Subnero Optical comms: Hydromea 3D perception: Voyis 3D perception: in-house 2D perception: Voyis, Blueprint Subsea Survey and mapping: Voyis, Coda Octopus, Marine Sonic Technology Specifications
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