Tampa Deep Sea Xplorers Compact Low Cost AUV Platform for Next Generation

Lidar has revolutionized the collection of archeological, geographical, and cartographic data on dry land. Its use below the water’s surface however has been severely limited. Tampa Deep Sea Xplorers (TDSX) is proposing to develop a compact underwater Lidar system for use on small ROVs and AUVs. TDSX proposes to continue the Phase 1 collaborative effort between TDSX and BeamSea Associates to complete development of a Lidar system to accurately and reliably collect data from small AUVs. The proposed project will use data and knowledge gained in Phase 1 to build, test, and commercialize the compact Lidar system. The Phase 2 project will continue the work using the TDSX Barracuda AUV platform, which is suitable to prove that a lightweight compact Lidar system can be integrated, internally or as an add on module, into micro and mini-ROVs/AUVs. The proposed research has the potential to put a state-of-the-art data collection platform into the hands of individuals, small institutions, and research laboratories that otherwise would not be able to afford an underwater Lidar mounted on a remote vehicle for subsea data collection.