Energy management system for unmanned, untethered sensors

Research Proposed: The continued development of an innovative and comprehensive energy management technology that could lead to revolutionary improvements in Combat Reach Capabilities (CRC)and significant increases in a force multiplier.The goal is to optimize energy sources of untethered unmanned vehicles and unattended sensors in order to significantly improve the overall mission capabilities of the platform.Problem/Opportunity:UUV''s and underwater sensor technologies are maturing rapidly to serve a variety of fleet applications. The autonomous vehicle/sensor development is diverse and dynamic with specifications influenced by technological advances and emerging requirements. Sensor advancements have outpaced energy management development and this divergence has slowed the evolution and potential of this capability.Technology now exists that can solve this disparity and lead to a spiral type energy and mission package development. Plan/Process Outline: Identify and integrate in a power oriented architecture theme energy sources/systems that deliver a model that characterizes a trade space enabled by detailed design solutions. Benefits: A novel solution in overcoming the undersea energy management challengesand advancing into the next generation of long range and extended endurance UUVs/unmanned sensors.