Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs)
"Smaller," "cheaper," "faster" are the buzzwords of design for all instruments and platforms today, and AUVs are at the forefront of providing these attributes to oceanographic data collection. Their large payload capacity, high velocity and precise guidance deliver data far below the cost of ship-based systems. WET Labs' line of ECO sensors is available in designs tailored to work seamlessly with the leading AUV providers around the world.
Bluefin Robotics' Spray glider (left) and staff with the Bluefin AUV (right).
(Photos courtesy Bluefin Robotics, Inc.)
A: Slocum Littoral glider.
B: Optical sensors integrated in the glider's payload compartment:
SAM: Scattering-Attenuation Meter
Triplet: Three-wavelength backscattering sensor
FL-LSS: CDOM fluorescence and Light Scattering sensor (broadly weighted side scatter).
(Photos courtesy E. Creed, Rutgers U. glider team)
The Gavia AUV by Hafmynd, Ltd. with an ECO BB3 scattering meter.
(Photos courtesy Hafmynd, Ltd.)
REMUS AUV by Hydroid, Inc. Right: with an ECO FLNTU fluoresence and turbidity sensor.
(Photos courtesy Hydroid, Inc.)