Uncrewed Systems Technology 044 l Xer Technolgies X12 and X8 l Lidar sensors l Stan UGV l USVs insight l AUVSI Xponential 2022 l Cobra Aero A99H l Accession Class USV l Connectors I Oceanology International 2022

113 Oceanology International 2022 | Report it in 2015,” said Corentin Troussard. “It’s equipped with sidescan sonar, interferometric sensors for bathymetry, as well as up to seven water quality sensors, a video camera and light, and acoustic comms systems for real-time monitoring of its position, speed, heading and battery energy from the surface.” Its RACAM acoustic modem was developed in-house, and is also deployed on the company’s handheld sonar (for use by divers) and on its second AUV, the NemoSens. That is an 895 mm-long and 124 mm-diameter AUV that weighs about 9 kg in air and carries similar sensor types to the Comet-300. It has a top speed of 8 knots, an endurance of just over 10 hours, and a maximum operating depth of 300 m. The Comet-300 meanwhile is the larger counterpart to the NemoSens. It weighs 32 kg in standard configuration, is 1900 mm long, and can operate for 12 hours if running at 4 knots, up to a maximum endurance of 20 hours, and can also dive down to 300 m. “All our systems can communicate with each other and with the surface thanks to our acoustic positioning system,” Troussard added. “And they can correct their survey routes for drift in real time, to within 5 m of constant accuracy.” SBG Systems displayed its range of navigation and positioning products, including its newest solution, the Pulse-40 IMU. “It’s a very small MEMS-based system that optimises performance against size, outputting raw IMU data for the end-user to use with their own algorithms in order to get the kind of navigational, survey or camera-pointing output they want,” explained Christophe Nicolopoulos. The Pulse-40 weighs 12 g and consumes 0.3 W on power inputs from 3.0 to 5.5 V. It measures 30 x 28 x 13.3 mm, although it must be installed on an end-user’s PCB for data processing, via a UART serial interface that allows an output data rate of up to 2000 Hz (or a baud rate of up to 4 Mbit/s). Its accelerometers enable a measurement range of up to 40 g and a bias instability of 6 µ g while its gyroscope has a range of 490 º /second. However, a version with a 2000 º /second range can be available depending on export controls. “For more complete solutions, including Kalman filters and additional algorithms for vehicle operations and mapping, we recommend our Ellipse, Ekinox or Apogee series, which are now well-proven for navigation and other autonomous functions,” Nicolopoulos added. We caught up with Cellula Robotics, whose hydrogen-powered Solus-LR (Long Range) AUV we previously covered in detail in UST 30 (February/March 2020), to learn about an upcoming new vehicle the company is developing. The new model, the Solus-XR, is expected to measure 12 m in length and 1.5 m in diameter. It will be the Canadian OEM’s longest-endurance platform yet, with an onboard powerplant constructed around redundant hydrogen fuel cells enabling at least 5000 km of range between refuelling stops if it’s operating at an average speed of 3 knots. Manoeuvring will be aided by mechanically deployed thrusters that will provide hovering capabilities and pitch and roll when necessary, and retract back into the hull when not needed, so that the XR’s hydrodynamic profile is optimised. The Solus-XR will be capable of sprint speeds of greater than 8 knots, and it will displace 10,000 kg. Included in this displacement will be two large modular payload ‘cartridges’ – one installed under the forward part of the hull and one under the rear. These are being designed to make field-swapping of mission sensor packages quicker and easier than traditional engineering approaches allow. “Also, the suction anchor will be available as one of the options for those modular payloads,” said Jacqueline Nichols. Uncrewed Systems Technology | June/July 2022 Cellula Robotics’ suction anchor is to be an optional payload for the Solus-XR UUV