American data and subsea technology firm Ocean Infinity has tested a new battery technology for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).
The company conducted the tests in collaboration with marine technology firm Kraken Robotics after 18 months of research, development and trials.
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The testing of the new 6000m pressure-tolerant batteries aims to enable the HUGIN AUVs to conduct underwater missions over a period of more than four days without charging the battery.
Ocean Infinity chief technical officer Josh Broussard said: “This week’s test results mark a milestone achievement. Our new, groundbreaking battery technology has effectively doubled the vehicles’ endurance and capacity to collect data in a single deployment.
“We now have the capability to conduct AUV missions of over four days duration without the need for a battery recharge or change out.
“By deploying this technology, we are able to reduce launch and recovery operations by 50% and, in turn, provide a safer, more efficient and more weather-tolerant operation to our clients.”
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By GlobalDataAlong with Ocean Infinity’s multi-AUV operation, the technology is expected to expand the survey range to approximately 700km per AUV.
Kraken engineering senior vice-president David Shea said: “Our objective was to deliver a drop-in solution for the OI HUGIN AUVs, and we achieved our objectives to enable over 100 hours operational endurance in a single charge.
“Combining Kraken’s pressure-tolerant encapsulation technology with OI’s operational experience and technical team, we collaborated to achieve a robust battery solution that can work across their whole fleet of AUVs.”
In April, Ocean Infinity completed a subsea search and inspection on the wreck of the MV Grande America, as part of the agreement with marine services company Ardent.
Based in Canada, Kraken Robotics offers pressure-tolerant batteries, underwater robotic systems, software-centric sensors and data analytics as a service.
