USE Network launch I UAV Works VALAQ l Cable harnesses l USVs insight l Xponential 2020 update l MARIN AUV l Suter Industries TOA 288 l Vitirover l AI systems l Vtrus ABI

12 Researchers have used aerial, surface and underwater robotic vehicles simultaneously to locate, map and explore a key oceanographic feature in the Pacific Ocean (writes Nick Flaherty). The multiple autonomous vehicles were used to explore the North Pacific Subtropical front, a sharp boundary where cold waters from the north meet warm waters from the south. The front is a conspicuous oceanographic phenomena that is constantly on the move, and the project demonstrated the use of distributed autonomous robotics to detect, track and characterise the complex and dynamic processes with high accuracy across a large area The autonomous craft were coordinated by the research vessel Falkor , which hosted key automated software called Ocean Space Centre and comms links to the vehicles. Satellite observations are often not enough to track continuously changing ocean systems, so to locate the North Pacific front in the first place the team deployed one WaveGlider and two Saildrones into the target research area ahead of the Falkor ’s arrival. The data from the surface and undersea craft was transmitted to the Falkor via each other and the satellite, and allowed the research party to optimise the deployment plans for all the autonomous vehicles, including those that were delivered by and deployed from the vessel. This used Disruptive Tolerant Network protocols that route data via other craft, for example to a surface craft then to the satellite. Two software modules, called Neptus and Ripples, allowed the team to view and control the dozens of vehicles non- stop for most of the expedition with just one operator, in real time via the satellite connections. Ripples provides a web-based interface for interacting with a team of autonomous vehicles; Neptus provides the on-board AI-based planning and execution. Over three weeks, the six underwater AUVs travelled over 1000 nautical miles for about 500 hours, while the four autonomous surface vehicles operated continuously, and the UAV made more than 25 flights totalling 10 hours. The UAV, a Flightwave Edge, has a visible light camera, an infrared camera and a running time of 2 hours. Vertical take-off and landing from the crowded deck of the Falkor was essential. This combination of unmanned systems allowed a section of open ocean front to be mapped with a sub- mesoscale resolution of 1-10 km. This created a detailed map of the ocean front that enabled the team to identify hotspots, varying the resolution of the measurements depending on the incoming data. Vehicles combine for survey Oceanography Platform one June/July 2020 | Unmanned Systems Technology Using a team of UAVs, USVs and AUVs allowed the North Pacific Subtropical front to be mapped