Issue 45 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Aug/Sept 2022 Tidewie USV Tupan | Performance monitoring | Bayonet 350 | UAVs insight | Xponential 2022 | ULPower UL350i and UL350iHPS | Elroy Air Chaparral | Gimbals | Clogworks Dark Matter

56 Digest | Bayonet 350 bottleneck for underwater vehicle missions these days; you can’t get a whole lot of information through those systems,” Farinella says. “And the crawler’s collecting an enormous amount of information, so the user has to prioritise what goes up to the operator to achieve a specific mission.” Hartman adds, “Greensea has worked tirelessly on ordering that within its comms protocols. There’s a specific module within OpenSea that prioritises data for low-bandwidth comms, which is critical for the kilobytes of data we’re limited to with acoustic comms.” Other options are available for higher- bandwidth data transfers. For one, an RF antenna mounted on a long and telescopic mast can be installed atop the 350, and systems up to 5.8 m tall are available in this regard. Alternatively, an RF buoy connected to the 350’s main computer by electrical or fibre-optic tether can float on the surface to provide persistent data streaming over the course of operations. “In all circumstances, if data links really aren’t available then data will be stored in a 2 Tbyte hard drive on the vehicle, so that when the mission is complete, the user can retrieve the UGV, remove the hard drive and perform their analyses,” Hartman says. Farinella adds, “We’re also now getting into edge processing, which will allow for copious data to be stored and processed on the vehicle itself. We’re engaged in a research programme that’s looking into how we can best do that in our environment.” Future plans Although the technologies on the 350 are largely mature, the company plans to upgrade the power systems in the year ahead, not just for more power density but for smarter and more precise energy management, to gain a better understanding of how energy can be conserved. “We have a very intelligent comms network throughout the 350 and back to the GCS, and we’d like to make better use of that in how we send and use readily available information on power usage and needs throughout the vehicle – we think there’s a lot to be gained there,” Hartman says. Farinella adds, “When you look at all the smart things being done in e-mobility, there’s no reason we can’t apply those to our robots on the beaches and below the waves. When the time comes, we’ll be working on larger crawlers, such as a Bayonet 450, and more powerful crawlers further down the line.” August/September 2022 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Bayonet 350 Underwater UGV Size: 1.8 x 1.5 x 0.3 m Weight: 272 kg Payload capacity: 159 kg Maximum speed: 1.8 kph Maximum range: 38 km at 1.8 kph, 64-plus km at slower speeds Maximum depth: 100 m Specifications An RF antenna can be mounted atop the Bayonet 350’s mast for real-time data transfers while 5.8 m underwater