Unmanned Underwater Riverine Craft (UURC) - Novel Energy Systems

Phase I efforts culminated in the recommendation that SeaLandAire’s future research should focus on the dual challenges of propulsion and energy harvesting to facilitate persistent surveillance in a shallow water environment. Ultimately these issues both point to a fundamental limitation preventing progress in other challenging areas: energy budget. In this Phase II effort, SeaLandAire will develop hybrid power subsystem concepts that successfully address the energy needs of the UURC for a variety of mission scenarios. SeaLandAire will investigate novel methods for energy storage, harvesting and conversion. One expected outcome of this objective is to identify and address hurdles along the critical design path for both conventional and unconventional, higher-risk UUV energy technologies.