Semi-autonomous mapping system

There is an emerging global market for free swimming undersea robots that are reliable, increase productivity, provide high quality data, and are easy to program and operate. To gain acceptance these robots have to be inexpensive to own and versatile. This paper describes the Semi-Autonomous Mapping System (SAMS) a UUV designed to survey the ocean from a depth of 10 m to a depth of 6 km. SAMS was developed under a cooperative program involving the Naval Oceanographic Office, the Office of Naval Research, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). The system, including launch and recovery gear, is land, sea, and air shippable in one standard 2.4 by 6 meter ISO container. The system is operable from T-AGS-60 ships and other oceanographic vessels in sea states up to those generated by Beaufort Scale six winds. The system is operated, maintained, and repaired at sea by trained technician level personnel. SAMS is based on the REMUS UUV, which was also developed at WHOI. During sea trials in March of 2003, SAMS completed a record dive to 4,963 m that lasted for 13 hours.