Teledyne Webb Research Unveils Slocum Sentinel Glider

Teledyne Webb Research announced the launch of its newest autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), the Slocum Sentinel Glider, set to debut at Oceanology International (OI) in London in March 2024.

Designed for oceanographic monitoring across myriad applications, the new AUV expands the capabilities and endurance of the vehicle by building on the technology of Teledyne Webb Research’s Slocum G3 Glider, offering greater endurance and payload capability.

The Slocum Sentinel Glider scales the standard Slocum Glider through an increased diameter and length – 13 inches in diameter and over 8 feet long. This expanded size allows the Sentinel to hold over 3.5 times as many lithium primary batteries as the standard Slocum Glider and to accommodate up to eight different sensor or hardware integrations.

"The size of the Sentinel gives it the energy capacity to increase mission length to over two years, or users can fit more high-energy sensors like active or passive acoustics, sensors with on-board processing, and imaging, without seeing a significant decrease in their overall mission length," said Shea Quinn, Slocum Glider Product Line Manager at TWR.

The Sentinel will be driven by the industry’s largest buoyancy engine, with a volumetric capacity of four liters – more than double that of any other glider buoyancy engine. This affords the Sentinel a standard glide speed of 0.75 knots. It features dual thrusters on the aft of the vehicle, which users can choose to activate for a sprint speed of up to 3.5 knots.

"The Sentinel is the world’s fastest glider – its buoyancy engine is large enough to deal with drastic density changes in the water column, and its thrusters give it the ability to stay on track in strong currents or other difficult ocean conditions," Quinn said.

The Sentinel uses the established piloting, flight control and communications architecture of the Slocum Glider and allows for the same sensor and hardware options as the standard-sized vehicle.

"We are excited to bring this new product and capability to our customers," said Dan Shropshire, Vice President of Business Development for Teledyne Marine Vehicles, "The Sentinel represents the next generation in persistent ocean monitoring, and its features expand operational opportunities for our customers."