Boeing
& Liquid Robotics Demonstrating their SHARCs Wave & Solar Powered
USV/UUV
A
joint Boeing Defense and Liquid Robotics team recently demonstrated
the (SHARCs, or Sensor Hosting Autonomous Remote Craft) wave and solar
powered autonomous craft. The SHARCs is based on Liquid Robotics' Wave
Glider SV3, a unique wave and solar propelled 2 parts system (one on
the surface, the other under water).
Video showing how the how the SHARCs maneuver through the harsh ocean
waters to provide a seafloor-to-space connection. Video: Boeing
SHARCs
are used for data collection, surveillance and acoustic monitoring.
In September, Boeing and Liquid Robotics signed a multi-year agreement
to enhance the unmanned marine vessel’s capabilities. To see the
SHARCs in action, Boeing Defense, Space & Security President and
CEO Chris Chadwick and Boeing Military Aircraft leaders recently travelled
to the crystal clear waters in Kamuela, Hawaii near Liquid Robotic’s
engineering test and evaluation center for a demonstration.
The Wave Glider is a unique wave and solar propelled 2 parts system
(one on the surface, the other under water). Image: Liquid Robotics
“The
Navy and international customers see the value of SHARC in terms of
what it can do from an information and sensor perspective to give them
better situational awareness under and on top of the water,”
Chadwick said.
SHARCs can operate in a fleet to connect with other SHARCs, on land
data centers and a variety of Boeing marine and aerial assets. They
can be at sea for up to a year without a manned crew or servicing—which
is mostly removing barnacles from its sensors.
Liquid Robotics was showcasing the SHARCs (military version of the Wave
Glider SV3 UUV) at AAD 2014 in South Africa.
Defense
Applications During AAD 2014 (defense show in South Africa which Navy
Recognition was covering), a Liquid Robotics representative
told us that the Wave Glider SV3 is already in use with many navies around
the world including the U.S. Navy (which has around 30 units), the Royal
Australian Navy (which operates 6 of these unmanned vehicles), the Royal
Norwegian Navy and even NATO.
The U.S. Navy deploys the Wave Glider SV3 for a number of missions including:
» Information Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR)
» Underwater Terrain Mapping
» Anti-submarine Warfare (ASW - The system is then fitted with a
towed array)
» Underwater relay
» Data link relay