6,000m Underwater Research AUV

CUSTOMER CHALLENGE

One of our European customers had a development program to design and build a 6,000m rated AUV to complement and support their existing fleet of underwater vehicles.

An AUV is an autonomous drone designed to accomplish intelligent missions without assistance from an operator. It was envisaged that the new vehicle would be able to undertake a high frequency of extended dives, whilst scanning the sea and visually inspecting localised areas near the sea floor. The vehicle was designed around an array of sensors for physical and chemical analysis whilst simultaneously producing sets of topographical and physico-chemical data. The new vehicle will enable operators to produce, in a single dive, data sets relating to geology, geophysics and geology which would normally require several dives.

For the project to be a success it was identified that the selected connector manufacturer would have to complete an extensive qualification program and supply a range of connectors that delivered high levels of reliability, low weight and offer the ability to maintain the vehicle between dives.

The new designs completed the extensive qualification program and were then manufactured with a range of highly customised wiring detail to meet the requirements of the vehicle’s electrical system.