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50 Insight | UUVs The system offers a series of vehicle options, including the Seascan MK2 self-propelled ROV for identifying unexploded ordnance, the K-STER C expendable mine disposal craft for neutralising a munition, and the A9-M or A18-M AUVs with embedded ATR. However, beyond this more traditional concept of operation for MCM missions, the UUV market is now witnessing the emergence of vastly different technology types, which according to industry experts could herald potential for new mission sets and concepts of operation. Developments include research into biomimetic UUVs that can mimic aquatic animals such as fish, and larger diameter UUVs (LDUUVs) capable of autonomously conducting more enduring and persistent missions at extended ranges. Considering the future state of the UUV market, head of the Acoustic Research Laboratory at the Tropical Marine Science Institute at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Associate Professor Mandar Chitre (who is also assisting in the MantaDroid programme), describes how ROV technology in particular has traditionally been relied on as the ‘workhorse’ of the subsea industry for many years. AUV technology, he says, has really only matured over the past decade or so, with shortfalls in autonomy, underwater navigation and comms still remaining to be overcome.  He highlights ongoing efforts at the NUS in biomimetic AUV technology. These include cooperative underwater navigation and comms between swarming AUVs, which would allow a group of platforms to become networked in order to accomplish a broader range of missions. Such a concept relies on the integration of collision avoidance and machine learning software into the AUVs to allow them to work cooperatively to undertake tasks. He also says the university is trying to find ways of enabling better and more adaptive mission planning for smarter coverage of geographical areas, as well as collective intelligence of a team of low-cost AUVs, again operating in a swarm configuration. Although the concept of swarming continues to gather pace in the airborne environment, equivalent efforts in the underwater domain remain less developed. However, whether operated in the air or underwater, a swarming capability requires mature collision avoidance software, which can impinge on the already limited payload capacities of AUVs and UUVs. Researchers and engineers at the NUS also plan to exploit developed technology associated with the MantaDroid project (including underwater navigation and comms) in offshore applications, environmental monitoring, defence and security as well as deep-sea mineral resource surveying, he adds. However, considering such hurdles, Associate Professor Chitre warns, “A key challenge in UUV technology at the moment is how to develop vehicles that can persistently monitor the waters. “For that we need high-quality and low-cost underwater navigation, long endurance, energy-efficient and smarter adaptive mission planning, and good underwater comms and networking.” To that end, he says, “One [NUS] group has been working on cooperative underwater navigation, energy-efficient mission planning and underwater comms and positioning technology for some years now, and has developed technologies that help address the current challenges to a large extent. “Other groups have been working on bio-inspired energy-efficient propulsion to increase vehicle endurance.” He declines to provide further details though, owing to the need for commercial confidentiality. Associate Professor Chitre is certain though that ROVs will most probably remain the vehicle of choice for government and commercial operations in the short term, saying, “Although there are AUVs that are often used in specialised operations, AUV operations are still very manpower-intensive. I expect AUVs to become easier to operate and more autonomous over the next five to 10 years. “That will allow them to be used at lower cost and with less complexity, and their use will increase in many applications.” Bio-mimicry Exploration into biomimetic UUVs continues to be driven by government and academic organisations, some of which continue to feed off one of the most notable projects in recent years, conducted by the US Office for Naval Research (ONR) in collaboration with Boston Engineering. The Silent Nemo programme comprised the development and evaluation of the ONR’s Rapid Innovation Cell’s GhostSwimmer technology demonstrator UUV, which was designed to mimic the oscillating body movements of a tuna fish. The programme was wrapped up in December 2014 after a final evaluation at the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek- Fort Story (JEBLC-FS) in Virginia, February/March 2018 | Unmanned Systems Technology There is a key challenge in UUV technology at the moment – how to develop vehicles that can persistently monitor waters