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16 st / November 2016 www.sea-technology.com ling precisely these kinds of challenges, and after listen- ing to customer feedback and studying the needs of the broader marketplace, in March 2016, we intro- duced the new-generation REMUS 100 AUV. Featur- ing technology and ca- pabilities that are the first of their kind in the indus- try—including advanced core electronics, a flexible navigation suite with an exclusive conformal DVL and an open-architecture platform—the new-gen- eration REMUS 100 AUV offers improved autonomy and more creativity during missions for commercial, military and academic ap- plications. This includes environmental monitoring, scientific research, seafloor mapping, salvage, mine coun- termeasures and many others. As just one example, a customer utilizing the new- generation REMUS 100 for pollution monitoring can write their own application to track pollutants, follow gradients, sample a single area over time, or any other behavior that may be required. Our recent testing of the new-generation REMUS 100 AUV conducted off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, over the past several months shows that the vehicle's new technologies and capabilities have a direct impact on en- durance/energy use, size and functionality. Endurance, Energy High-capacity battery packs allow most modern AUVs to carry more energy than ever before. The new-gener- ation REMUS 100, for instance, comes equipped with two or three (depending on the model) of Hydroid's lat- est 18650 Li-ion-based packs. These packs use 3.2-Ah Li-ion cells and have the same electrical configuration as the well-tested and proven REMUS 600 pack currently in T en years ago, AUVs were somewhat of a novelty in the field of advanced marine robot- ics. Back then, use cases were limited largely to the U.S. military, where attention was focused on low-visible exploration, reconnaissance and hy- drographic mapping. The field has evolved rapidly, however, and today, AUVs are commonplace—so much so that they are now considered fundamental tools not only for the U.S. Navy, but also for a wide range of commercial and scientific applications. These days, AUVs rou- tinely traverse the oceans, completing missions related to deep-sea salvage, oil and gas pipeline monitoring, mineral exploration, mapping of waterways and shipping routes, telecommunications relay and more. As a result, the field of advanced marine robot- ics is shifting. Engineers spend less time answering ques- tions regarding what an AUV can do and more time work- ing on issues related to how much an AUV can do. In other words, the robotic mechanisms of an AUV are now con- sidered standard. Today's customers look beyond that basic functionality and are more concerned with the data those robotics can deliver. Loaded with sophisticated sensors and other advanced technologies, modern AUVs can scour the sea for days, diving to depths of 6,000 m while collect- ing scientific data and high-resolution images. Could their missions be extended even longer (and to greater depths)? Could payloads be increased to include even more sen- sors? Could AUVs be repurposed, i.e., reprogrammed as objectives change? Perhaps software could be generalized so that it is interoperable among a variety of different sys- tems? At Hydroid Inc., a subsidiary of Kongsberg Maritime and manufacturer of marine robotic systems, we are tack- New-Generation REMUS 100 AUV Vehicle Updates for Endurance, Miniaturization, Customization By Dr. Sandor Becz A side scan sonar image of the seafloor in Buzzards Bay from recent new-generation REMUS 100 testing.