Bluefin Robotics based in Quincy, Massachusetts is trying to develop an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), which would be used for identification and demolition of underwater improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and ship hull mines as per an agreement with the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) worth $30 millions.
Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV)
The team, which is lead by Bluefin also includes scientists from the Orca Maritime in Imperial Beach in California and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. They are currently fitting the Bluefin Hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (HAUV) with a robotic arm, which would provide IED detection underwater and also help to neutralize them.
The HAUV was developed originally for inspecting the ship hulls. The new version is called the HAUV-N and using this would eliminate the need for human divers to carry out the dangerous task of detecting and destroying underwater IEDs and mines. The HAUV-N would be controlled by a person via a remote control. This vehicle also includes a video camera and both the camera and the robotic arm are used to neutralize the supposed IEDs and mines found anywhere near the underwater structures or ship hulls. Work on the HAUV had begun almost a decade ago for an ONR program, which would search and locate autonomously the ship hulls. However, the contract was obtained during the early half of this year for developing the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Hull Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Localization System (HULS).