Biomimetic Maneuverable EAP Anti-Submarine Sensor Phase II

To provide the Navy with a successful means of creating configurable underwater sensor networks an acoustic sensor system that can be mobile and self sufficient is required. IST’s Phase I findings indicate that our energy harvesting approach is viable and could potentially be expanded to harvest energy from both low frequency kinetic sources such as ocean currents and waves, and high frequency sources such as ambient vibrations. Initial projections indicate that a propulsion system based on these materials is also feasible. In the Phase II base program, additional refinements will be made to the energy harvesting materials and system electronics, thereby increasing its efficiency and power output. Further development of the propulsion system will be conducted to increase the voltage breakdown of the DE and actuation of the EAP MERs fabricated in Phase I. The Option Tasks will focus on the actual integration of the energy harvesting and propulsion systems into a representative sensor platform prototype for evaluation purposes. This will require continued collaboration with Bluefin Robotics, Ultra Electronics, and the customer. The final objective of the option tasks will be to evaluate the representative sensor platform containing our EAP propulsion and energy harvesting systems in a water environment.