The Ocean Floor Geophysics (OFG) AUV team is proud to be part of a world first with the GEBCO-NF Alumni Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE team: autonomous seafloor survey with our world class Hugin survey and pipeline inspection AUV "Chercheur". AUV Chercheur was launched from the Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) Sea-Kit, performed a high resolution seafloor survey with USBL positioning and communications to the USV, and was recovered by the USV. This accomplishment by the GEBCO-NF Alumni team represents a huge stride forward autonomous mapping of the ocean's depths, supported by experts, resources, and equipment from the Nippon Foundation, GEBCO-NF Alumni, Ocean Floor Geophysics, Hushcraft, Kongsberg Maritime, and Teledyne Caris.
Resource Links:
OFG Hugin AUV "Chercheur"
Kongsberg Maritime press release
GEBCO-NF XPrize Concept (video)
Autonomous Exploration of the Ocean Floor (video)
Image Credit: Alex DeCiccio