Iver3 AUV Upgrades Ordered for the Royal Navy

L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) received an order to upgrade three Iver3 Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) to be used in support of the Royal Navy’s Project Wilton. L3Harris will upgrade the Iver3 vehicles with the capability to integrate high accuracy navigation sensors and advanced communications for surface tracking, with collaborative autonomy architecture and automatic target recognition.

Spinrad Named NOAA Chief Scientist

MTS President-elect Dr. Richard (Rick) Spinrad will be stepping down from his MTS position as he is named chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). President Barack Obama announced the appointment May 8, 2014. Spinrad’s appointment was announced among that of several others also nominated to key positions. President Obama said, “I am honored that these talented individuals have decided to join this administration and serve our country. Dr.

Sonardyne Offers Discount to US Academics

Marine science and ocean research programs across the United States are set to benefit from access to more affordable underwater technology thanks to a new discount scheme introduced by Houston-based Sonardyne Inc. Under the terms of the company’s Academic Discount Partnership, Sonardyne is offering eligible U.S. academic and oceanographic institutions a 20% discount on equipment across its product lineup…

Alion Is Awardee of DoD IACs' $ 3 bln Contract

Ensuring that the US military is supported by the most advanced, effective technologies and tools is critical to the nation’s defense. To meet this need, Alion Science and Technology, a global engineering, technology and operational solutions company, was awarded a contract valued at up to $3 billion to compete for work supporting essential technical solutions by the Department of Defense Information Analysis Centers (DoD IACs).

Bedrock Scores $8M in Funding to Fast Track Ocean Data Initiatives

Bedrock Ocean Exploration, which was created to make the business of gathering, processing and disseminating accurate information on the world’s oceans to key stakeholders, has raised an $8M seed round from Eniac Ventures, Primary Venture Partners, Quiet Capital and R7.The funding is targeted to help Bedrock scale their robotics and cloud software to map the ocean floor more efficiently than ever, effectively removing people & ship-centric acquisition operations.

German Government Funds Autonomous Subsea Robotics System Development Project

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is providing 12 million Euros as part of the Maritime Research Program for the development of a novel autonomous submersible robotics system that will enable autonomous monitoring of underwater installations in the deep sea.All told, there are nine participating companies in the Cooperative Development of a Comprehensive Integrated Autonomous Underwater Monitoring Solution (CIAM) project…

X1 Wind Gets Funding for Floating Wind Project

Spain-based floating wind technology developer X1 Wind said Tuesday it had secured a €2.5 million ($2,97 million) grant to launch its first commercial floating wind project.The floating wind technology developer has been allocated the grant through the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator program.X1 Wind was named among 38 of the most promising start-ups by the EIC after being shortlisted…

GE Researchers Unveil 12 MW Floating Wind Turbine Concept

GE researchers are working on a project to design and develop advanced controls to support a 12-megawatt (MW) floating offshore wind turbine, in an effort to enable larger, more powerful turbines to be installed deeper waters unlocked by floating wind technologies.The $4 million project is being run through ARPA-E’s ATLANTIS (Aerodynamic Turbines Lighter and Afloat with Nautical Technologies and Integrated Servo-control) program…

Sonardyne, SeeByte Advance UMS Navigation and Autonomy

Sonardyne and SeeByte won a UK Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) funding to enhance and extend the future operational capability of autonomous and remotely operated systems in battlespace domains.The collaboration is the phase two of the UK’s Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA)’s Autonomy in Challenging Environments competition and builds on the work both organizations undertook in Phase 1.Sonardyne underwater positioning system will be teamed with SeeByte’s adaptive…

Summer Shark Research Heats Up at WHOI

WHOI scientists will collaborate with the non-profit shark research organization OCEARCH on a month-long expedition starting out on 31, July 2013, to tag white sharks and collect valuable blood and tissue samples off the coast of Cape Cod. The OCEARCH vessel is uniquely equipped to catch, tag, and bio-sample sharks before they are released. As mythic as sharks are, surprisingly little is known about these apex ocean predators.

British Survey Ship Identifies 18 Libyan Shipwrecks

In ten days’ work, Devonport-based survey ship 'HMS Echo' found a string of sunken obstacles and wrecks – including what is believed to be a sunken amphibious ship from the Gaddafi era – in the waters of the capital Tripoli and the port of Al Khums. Lying some 160 feet (ft) beneath the surface of the Mediterranean, the Gaddafi era ship was one of nearly 20 wrecks and objects peppering the seabed off Libya, found by HMS Echo in a remarkable 10-day search for hidden dangers to mariners.

MTR100 '13 LinkQuest Inc.

San Diego, Calif., U.S. LinkQuest Inc., of San Diego, Calif., manufactures precision acoustic instruments for offshore oil exploration, construction, drilling, survey, environmental study and other oceanographic applications. The company’s acoustic communication and positioning products are based on the innovative Broadband Acoustic Spread Spectrum (BASS) Technology and are widely used worldwide. LinkQuest’s…

Naval Surface Warfare Center Gets Wavemaking Upgrade

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD) completed major renovations of the Maneuvering and Seakeeping Basin (MASK) facility, Aug. 16. For more than one hundred years, the Navy has built and conducted extensive testing on physical prototypes of ships called scale models before building the real ship in full scale. In 1962, Carderock built the MASK in order to test the scale model performance of ships, platforms and moored systems in realistic sea conditions.

Strong Sales Ensure Applied Acoustics Keeps Growing

Increased demand for Applied Acoustics’ products has necessitated the installation of a further calibration tank at its Great Yarmouth facility, the company reported. The new tank will enable production schedules to keep pace with additional customer requirements for advanced subsea acoustic positioning products that are calibrated prior to shipment to check acoustic integrity. U.K. “The meticulous checks eliminate the possibility of even slight ‘blind spots’ during subsea operations…

MTR100 '13 Kongsberg Maritime

Kongsberg Maritime develops systems for practically all subsea applications. Its sonar, multibeam echo sounders, cameras, positioning systems and AUVs are used in survey and inspection operations worldwide. Kongsberg Maritime works closely with customers to develop technology that pushes the limits of what the subsea industry can see and do under water. Company Mission: Maximizing performance by providing The Full Picture.

Okeanus Takes Delivery of Deepwater Box Cores

Okeanus Science and Technology LLC (Okeanus) has added custom-designed, deepwater box cores to its catalog of equipment available for lease. As part of its suite of equipment, Okeanus offers clients a variety of box cores sizes. The most recent additions to Okeanus’ box core line are the largest class offered for leasing and have openings measuring 50 cm x 50 cm with a depth of approximately 60 cm. Fully laden by weights, the new box core design weighs nearly 1,200 lbs.

MTR100 '13 Bluefin Robotics Corporation

President/CEO:     David P. CFO:     Charles J. Autonomous Underwater Vehicle manufacturer, Bluefin Robotics, has demonstrated rapid growth within the over the last two years with the build of several new vehicles and the addition of a variety of development contracts to the company’s portfolio. Simultaneously, Bluefin has significantly invested in its production infrastructure and resource skill set, nearly doubling its factory square-footage and doubling its workforce.

UMASS Dartmouth: New Professional Science Master’s Program

Responding to the growing industry need for workers trained in science, technology, communications and management, UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) has introduced the Coastal and Ocean Administration, Science and Technology Professional Science Master’s degree (COAST-PSM). This two-year, non-thesis Master’s program consists of interdisciplinary courses that enable students to interpret scientific information and integrate it in policy or management decisions.

NOAA Ocean Exploration Federal Funding Opportunity

NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) is seeking pre-proposals (required) and, ultimately, full proposals to support its mission, consistent with NOAA's Next Generation Strategic Plan, to search, investigate and document poorly-known and unknown ocean areas through interdisciplinary exploration, and to advance and disseminate knowledge of the ocean environment and its physical, chemical, archaeological and biological resources.

GE to Equip Hornbeck Vessels with Dynamic Positioning

Imagine holding a 100-meter long, subsea construction vessel in position as it lowers with its 250-ton crane, heavy subsea modules to the seabed. According to GE, its Power Conversion company has the ability to take the guess work out of complex dynamic positioning (DP) operations with its advanced human-machine interface (HMI) and returns ship control to the mariner, so skilled DP operators can once again focus on the task of ship handling.