As part of the GEBCO-NF Alumni Team competing in the Shell OCEAN DISCOVERY XPRIZE, the SEA-KIT™ USV/AUV concept has been proven. It was shown that an Autonomous Surface Vessel can act as the mothership for an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle to perform high quality Bathymetry.
Using the Kongsberg Maritime HUGIN 1000 AUV, the team demonstrated the ability to perform an unmanned, long duration, high-quality sea bed mapping mission controlled entirely by the SEA-KIT™ USV. This mission profile included recovering the HUGIN AUV at night and in challenging sea conditions.
The team had to capture and process all data within a 36hr period to be matched against the established base map for comparison.
All requirements for the Mission were performed successfully and we look forward to being invited back for Round 2 once all Round 1 entries have been completed and the Judges decisions have been finalised.
SEA-KIT International is very proud that the team were able to demonstrate this bleeding edge technical capability and especially to have done so under such challenging conditions. Offshore on a Norwegian winter’s night is definitely a time that unmanned operations are appreciated!
We wish all other competitors the best of luck and we look forward to the challenges to come!