Sea Technology - Ship Hull Inspection with the HAUV
US. Navy HULSFest and NATO Harbour Protection Trials Demonstration Results
By Dr. Jerome Vaganay
Project Manager
Bluefin Robotics Corp.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
And
Dr. Franz
Hover Principal Research Engineer
Massachwetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts
The hovering autonomous underwater vehicle(HAUV) is a novel underwater robot that combines the maneuverability of a remotely operated vehicle with the flexibility of autonomous operations to efficiently perform detailed surveys of large marine structures, such as floating vessels. What distinguishes the HAUV from many other vehicles is its use of Doppler velocimetry along the hull to achieve fully hull-relative navigation and control. This attribute means that the vehicle can be operated without having to prepare the hull orboard the ship being inspected...
