Unmanned submarines glide across the ocean, putting Rutgers at leading edge of exploration

star ledger ^ | 08.22.09 | Judy Peet

[Coleus]

As millions of people watched Hurricane Bill batter the Dominican Republic via satellite last week, Drake sought a different view: from 3,000 feet beneath the pounding seas. Going where no man could, Drake, a 7-foot yellow robotic submarine from Rutgers University, proved there is yet another application for a fleet that university oceanographers hope will one day populate the globe. Already, Drake's sister ship, Scarlet, is two-thirds of the way toward completing the world's first trans-Atlantic crossing.

Another Slocum glider, as oceanographers prefer to call the robo-subs, was launched off Sandy Hook Thursday on a ground-breaking mission to patrol the shallow waters of the entire New Jersey coast, taking ocean bed samples every two seconds. Another will head to Antarctica this fall to monitor polar storms too brutal for human survival.

The military is interested, as are Homeland Security, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the state Department of Environmental Protection, NATO, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"In just a few years, we are changing the way people look at the entire ocean," said Scott Glenn, 53, designer and project director of the Rutgers Coastal Ocean Observation Lab, better known as RU COOL. "Ten years ago people said we were talking crazy. Now they want a piece of the action."

[Coleus]

Marine research technicians of the Rutgers Ocean Observation Lab prepare the launch of a robotic submarine off the coast of Sandy Hook in Monmouth County. The glider will travel the New Jersey coast from Sandy Hook to Cape May reporting on fish stocks, environmental conditions, tidal changes, and underwater hazards.

 

RU05 undergoes final preparations before its launch Thursday three miles southeast of Sandy Hook and will travel the New Jersey coastline for the next 30 days monitoring marine life and water quality.

Dr. Scott M. Glenn, professor at the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences leads a transatlantic unmanned underwater robot mission. If it is successful it will be the first mission of its kind. "You get very attached to these robots, " Glenn says.

[gaijin]

I wonder if some day we’ll have stealthy, inter-continental, UNDERWATER missiles...totally invulnerable to SDI countermeasures...?

[BallyBill]

Very Cool!

[umgud]

With drones above and these things below........

[Frantzie]

“With drones above and these things below........”

Oh....well they said these things off the coast of NJ. So let me correct your post.

With Zombies like Lautenberg above and these things below....

[Dysart]

This yellow submarine has a lot of potential uses, and yes, i’m thinking along the lines of military applications even as we live our life of ease.

[JerseyJohn61]

Jersey Ping

[BIGLOOK]

Not a Bubblehead ping.....

Geez, why did they pick yellow?

[SmithL]

That yellow will make it really difficult to get away with a broach.

[TChad]

Interesting. Lithium battery, 1 knot per hour, can run up to 300 days. No propeller, it uses a pump to make it rise and sink, and the wings translate that to forward motion.

[The Duke]

"Let me introduce you..."

"...to my NEW Little Friend"

[Elle Bee]

Didn't I recently read about Russian subs cruising off the east coast ?

.

[Bender2]

Gadzooks! Ya’ll check out... the US Navy's Liberdade XRay at http://www.onr.navy.mil/media/extra/fact_sheets/advanced_underwater_glider.pdf

[blackie]

Love it!!

[gaijin]

Very intereting. I’m surprised that the Xray is the world largest. The “glide” phase exploits a buoyant force, meaning that it powers down to depth, then glides UP, per penquin hydrodynamics...? Or does it glide DOWN, then powers back up?

My guess is the former..?

This has a HUGE future..!

[Doohickey]

The sound of fairwater planes slapping sea state was always a dead giveaway...

[TChad]

Maybe so. The DEA would have a hell of a time tracking these things, especially if as little metal as possible went into their construction. Still, with their one knot speed these subs move at the mercy of shifting currents. The Rutgers team hopes their sub will come ashore somewhere in Spain, or at least somewhere in Europe — not exactly precision targeting. Tony Montana wants his product delivered to Florida, not Greenland. I suppose if the subs surfaced more frequently for GPS checks, their accuracy would be improved.