Underwater Sensor System Autonomous Burial and Operation

In coordination with the SPAWAR Systems Center, San Diego, Makai Ocean Engineering, Inc. proposes to develop an autonomous Array Burial Vehicle (ABV) to install U.S. surveillance arrays. The proposed work focuses on: (a) developing an overall vehicle concept for an autonomous vehicle that will install and bury an underwater sensor array to protect it against fishing threats, (b) performing analytical and experimental analysis of critical elements of the installation and burial system to characterize the physical limits and trade-offs of the system proposed, and (c) providing convincing support of the feasibility of the proposed conceptual design, integration techniques, installation method and approximate cost. Makai"s innovative use of water jetting technology in the ABV substantially decreases the power requirements when compared to conventional plowing techniques. The jetting components, which are small in size and consume low amounts of power, will be incorporated into a light weight"torpedo shape"vehicle. The light weight ABV will help minimize the propulsion requirements, further decreasing component sizes and overall cost. The ABV will be more manageable and easily deployed from a variety of platforms, allowing the Navy to deploy arrays in softer soils and steeper slopes than those that can be achieved with conventional plows.