UTEC acquires second AUV

Vessel & ROV News - April 25, 2012

UTEC has completed factory acceptance tests and has taken delivery of an additional Teledyne Gavia autonomous underwater vehcile (AUV) to expand its AUV fleet.

UTEC’s fleet of 1000m-rated AUV systems are licensed for use in 67 countries from UTEC’s Houston base.

“UTEC is committed to investing in the best equipment and the most recent technology to offer our international customers the highest level of service. We continue to work closely with Teledyne Gavia and others to develop new modules and enhance the capabilities of these class leading AUVs,” said Ken Adams, UTEC’s chief technology officer.

Recently, UTEC formally extended its agreement with the University of Delaware, which provides access to the university’s Gavia AUV ‘DORA.’ The parties intend to build upon the established relationship, now in its third year, to continue to share knowledge and benefit from increased asset availability.

“At the University of Delaware we are excited to continue our collaborations with UTEC and continue to field cutting edge technology in the hands of the best trained personnel,” said University of Delaware’s associate professor Art Trembanis, director of the Coastal Sediments, Hyrdrodynamics, and Engineering Lab (CSHEL).

The AUVs incorporate many key features including: a nosecone-mounted digital stills camera and Imagenex obstacle avoidance sonar, the Inertial Navigation System-T-24 IMU by Kearfott DVL, which is aided by 1200kHz Doppler Velocity Log from Teledyne RDI. Additionally both of UTEC’s AUVs have a Side Scan Sonar – dual-frequency (900-1800kHZ) by Marine Sonics Technology Ltd, and a Multi-beam Echo Sounder – Geoswath Plus by GeoAcoustics.