Research Proposed:The feasibility of developing an innovative and comprehensive energy management technology that could lead to revolutionary improvements in Combat Reach Capabilities (CRC)and significant increases in a force multiplier will be investigated. The goal is to optimize energy sources of untethered unmanned vehicles and unattended sensors in order to improve the overall mission capabilities of the platform.Problem/Opportunity:UUVs and underwater sensor technologies are maturing rapidly to serve a variety of fleet applications. The autonomous vehicle/sensor development is diverse and dynamic with specifications influenced by technological advances and emerging requirements.Sensor advancements have outpaced energy management development and this divergence has slowed the evolution and potential of this capability.Technology now exists that can solve this disparity and lead to a spiral type energy and mission package development.Plan/Process Outline:Identify innovative energy sources/systems and deliver a refined model that characterizes a trade space enabling detailed design solutions.
Benefits:This technology will be the novel solution in overcoming the undersea energy management challenges and advancing into the next generation of long range and extended endurance UUVs/unmanned sensors.
Benefit: This technology will solve one of the most significant challenges facing the US Navy's force multiplier theme and Combat Reach Capability concept. The Navy has been embarked for a significant amount of time in designing and implementing unmanned, untethered sensors and autonomous underwater vehicles only to be stagnated by the inability of technology to supply appropriate power sources and energy management systems. The Navy's vision in the long term would be a fleet of small UUVs equipped with communications systems/sensors and remote sensors that can remain in an area for an extended time, conducting reconnaissance, mine countermeasures and surveillance missions. The size of these vessels and their design features are defined by Navy's UUV Master Plan and are limited by the power source and sensor package. Power is a necessity for this plan to succeed. Designing specific platforms to accomplish a myriad of missions is cost prohibitive. Multi-use platforms with mission reconfigurable sensor/communications suites and extended range/endurance achieves the goals of the Master Plan.This novel and innovative approach outlines a concept that will give the operator a very powerful technology permitting a greater flexibility in responding to dynamic mission requirements. The real power of this concept is the application of the energy management system into the commercial market.The UUV and remote sensor market is estimated to soar to an industry capitalization of over $8 billion dollars by the year 2020. Contributing to this growth is the international defense complex, oil industry, maritime domain security interests and the oceanographic exploration community.The defining technology that will allow the unmanned vehicle, untethered sensor to leap into the arena envisioned by strategists and the scientific community rests in the lap of power sources and energy management systems.
Keywords: robust solution with dramatic efficiency changes, robust solution with dramatic efficiency changes, innovative, cost effective with rapid speed to warfighter capablitiy, evolutionary and revolutionary
