UK Launches Unmanned Marine Mission 

Waveglider before deployment. Photo courtesy National Oceanography Centre

by Scott Kesselman



A fleet of seven robotic vehicles is being deployed into the ocean off of southwest England this week to collect scientific data about ocean processes and marine life.



The effort, coordinated by U.K.’s National Oceanography Centre, aims to travel up to 300 miles in three weeks and is driven entirely by unmanned systems that harness energy from the environment. The only communication with the vessels will be through satellite. 



The wind-, solar- and wave-powered fleet is targeting fronts of abundant plankton growth favorable for marine life. The vehicles will measure water temperature, surface weather conditions and plankton density; record animal sounds like clicks of dolphins and porpoises; and take images of seabirds. These data will help scientists map the properties and distribution of fronts and their associated wildlife.



“Nothing on this scale has been attempted before,” says Dr. Russel Wynn, scientific coordinator of the mission. “The range of vehicles and instruments being deployed at the same time is unique, and they will generate vast amounts of valuable scientific data. One advantage of using robotic vehicles is that they are relatively small and quiet compared to the research ships, so they are ideal for making observations of marine life. They will literally be our eyes and ears in the sea.”



A control center for the operation has been set up at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, however some vehicles will be operated by partners as far away as California.



“Coordinating this fleet to achieve the science objective is a challenging task and will teach us a lot about running this sort of operation,” says Dr. Maaten Furlong, a project vehicle manager. “Understanding how to run this type of campaign is essential, as our aim in the long term is to routinely deploy fleets of robots to tackle ocean research problems.”



Among those cooperating for the exercise are scientists and engineers from institutions and universities, commercial companies, government agencies, the U.K. Met Office and Royal Navy.



“We have been extremely impressed with the willingness of the partners to contribute their equipment, expertise and time in such a groundbreaking project,” says Dr. Furlong.



Two U.K. companies have developed unmanned maritime surface vehicles for the project including MOST and its Autonaut that harvests wave and solar power, and ASV with its C-Enduro that uses solar and wind power.



“It is great to be able to work with and support U.K. businesses in development of this new technology, which is clean and efficient,” says Dr. Wynn. “Marine robotic vehicles have a wide and growing range of applications, from science to defense, policy and marine operations.”