Underwater robot's home

Launch of the Eurodocker, the home base for UAVs used by commercial oil exploration and marine biologists.

Launching an underwater robotic submarine has always been a kind of little adventure. Especially under harsh sea conditions has the leak of maneuverability more than ones stop underwater works. Eurodocker is to be the solution to this problem. In a way similar to the docking platform of a space shuttle, the Eurodocker is a power station home base for robotic submarine AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles). 

Eurodocker is to be used as a homebase for UAVs used by commercial oil exploration and marine biologists. While underwater exploration will start from the Euodocker, the UAVs can at any time access the homebase to recharge and upload data before leaving again to continue about their assigned tasks. 

We all remember the old way which means for the UAV to start from the surface and to come to the surface again and again for uploading or tool exchanging procedures. More than once have expensive UAVs been damaged during this procedure by the crane used to pull them out of the water. 

The Eurodocker allows the robot to stay underwater and through the use of automated data exchange, tool interchange and uploading mechanism reducing the need of human interaction. 

Project Description :

• The Underwater Technology Center UWTH of the Institute of Materials Science IW at Hannover University, Germany.
  GISMA Underwater Connectors in Neumünster, Germany
• MARIDAN Autonomous Underwater Vehicles A/S in Hoersholm, Denmark
• The Department of Automation IAU at the Technical University of Denmark
• Studio Tre in Treviso and S.A.T.E. in Venice, Italy
• ORCA Instrumentation in Brest, France

The EURODOCKER project aims at designing, manufacturing and testing an underwater docking system for AUVs, relevant to re-energizing (not limited to batteries recharging) and data transfer (survey downloading, re-programming, etc.). It will allow exploiting to the utmost the enormous possibilities now offered by the AUV technology, offering cost effective research, surveying and monitoring. The success of the EURODOCKER will contribute to make underwater vehicles really autonomous and efficient all around the world. Indeed, the project aims to realize a practical standard DDLR system; in this first phase, work is concentrated on studying and identifying the requirements of underwater support to AUVs, suited to the wide set of vehicles now under successful development. 

	Underwater Tests	..	Tests Launch in Kiel (Germany)

Article Reference : 002051