Compact, Lightweight Magnetic Sensor for Small Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUV)

Sky Research, Inc. and Geometrics, Inc. propose to develop a sensor system that can be efficiently integrated into various versions of the Navy MK 18 MOD 1 Swordfish and Remote Environmental Measurement UnitS (REMUS)-100 in-service Unmanned Underwater Vehicles using extremely small, very low power total field magnetic sensors. To meet the needs of the U.S. Navy, the system will be designed to correctly confirm acoustic or optical mine classifications, including those with low magnetic signature, and reject acoustic clutter or poor optical imagery in low-visibility waters. Geometrics has demonstrated the feasibility of designing and commercializing these miniaturized Micro-Fabricated Atomic Magnetometers (MFAM). These sensors still have the fundamental advantage of total-field readings, which are independent of the orientation of the platform and sensor relative to the direction of the magnetic field being measured. The conceptual design of a sensor system using MFAM technology used in conjunction with acoustic sensors to improve the probabilities of detection, classification, and identification in harsh environments will be developed in Phase I. In addition, the deployment of multiple MFAM sensors along the enclosure axis will be investigated as a means to improve the compensation of magnetic noise generated from the platform.