SBIR-STTR Award

Naval research has long motivated the development of experimental and computational efforts to understand the influence of unsteady hydrodynamics on biologically inspired underwater vehicles. For such motivation, we seek to expand the performance envelopes of uncrewed systems (US) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV). While bound by the same physical laws that govern engineered systems, swimming creatures exhibit astonishing capabilities for efficiency, speed, agility, stealth, and maneuverability. In swimming, fish and mammals change their shape (gait morphology) to generate the dynamic fluid forces needed for propulsion and control. Research proves that certain body periodic motions can interact with body-induced vortices and wake vortices to maximize propulsive force. Inspired by the variety of natural locomotion modes available, we propose to incorporate years of foundational research in unsteady hydrodynamic principles generated by various types of fish-like gaits to inform the design and development of our lightweight, long-range, deep-sea, and highly-efficient underwater vehicle, “MOZA-UUV”, inspired by the Mosasaurus, an ancient swimming reptile who used multiple pairs of main propulsors and body undulation to achieve supreme swimming capability.

The United States Department of the Navy (DON) has identified Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) as an emerging technology that can perform/enable a diverse range of underwater missions. These vehicles will need to be fast, highly efficient, quiet, and have long range and endurance. To meet this need, Spectral Energies (SE) proposes to continue the development of its biologically informed UUV called Moza – inspired by the ancient Mosasaurus. Our Moza vehicle draws on the most recent understanding on the mechanics of swimming and efficient propulsor design, and we expect its performance in terms of minimum cost of transport (COT) and maximum speed to exceed even the best autonomous underwater vehicle (AUVs) and gliders. During Phase I, SE developed, built, and tested a small-scale demonstrator of its Moza vehicle. Simulations and experiments were performed to optimize the speed and efficiency of Moza. During Phase II, SE will develop a full-scale prototype of Moza that will be TRL 6 to 7. Control algorithms for heading and depth will be developed and the prototype will be demonstrated in an ocean environment. During Phase II option SE will incorporate payload (e.g., CTD and Oxygen sensors) and perform Ocean missions.