Energy Scavenging Unmanned Surface Vehicle for Long Range Surveillance

This project will develop and demonstrate energy scavenging technology to be applied in the open ocean for a low cost, Autonomous Sea Surface Vehicle (ASSV) that obtains power for propulsion, communications, navigation and sensors from the environment. By scavenging energy from the wind, solar power, wave energy or other means, and providing a storage medium such as ultra-cap storage capacitors and/or rechargeable batteries, it will be possible to incorporate this design into an ASSV with greatly extended range and endurance. Software models of these energy scavenging systems will be developed and integrated. Simulations will be run on the Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDSO) to determine the viability of the systems. This proposal specifically does not address development of an ASSV and the associated navigation and communications issues; leaving that task to be detailed in the Phase I option and implemented in Phase II. The CME Team includes Florida State University (FSU) Center for Advanced Power Systems (CAPS).