An Office of Naval Research inspired autonomous underwater vehicle — the Seaglider — may soon find itself in the commercial marketplace.
The Seaglider relies on a buoyancy based propulsion system that permits it to patrol the ocean depths for months at a time. It can travel at a half knot on a half a watt of power.
The underwater craft can go from the surface to a depth of 3300 feet and back every three to nine hours, says a spokesman, who adds that the Seaglider “remains at the surface long enough to transmit data it has collected, relay its position and receive instructions via a satellite phone network, before diving again.”
A sole licensing agreement was executed between iRobot of Bedford, Mass., and UW TechTransfer at the University of Washington.