USES
WHY USE AUVs?
IMPORTANT NOTE:
If you are unsure of what an 'AUV' is, this section probably won't make much sense. Luckily, you can find this information by visiting MARINE ROBOTIC VEHICLES.
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Before the advent of AUVs, researchers used ships and submarines to explore the ocean. So why use AUVs? Perhaps one of the best reasons is in the answer to this question posed by Henry Stommel (who else?) in 1989:
"With a necessarily small fleet of research ships, how could numerous widely dispersed measurements throughout all depths of the ocean be observed on a routine basis?” [1]
There are many specific advantages that AUVs provide, so only the main benefits are provided here. Limitations of AUVs will be added in an future update of this webpage... stay tuned!
STRENGTHS
Using AUVs is a much more cost-effective option to explore our oceans, allowing us to access remote and dangerous environments while minimizing the risk to human life and the marine environment.
One chief advantage of AUVs is their ability to travel both horizontally and vertically underwater, which allows the creation of high-resolution 3D maps.
Also: crocodile-infested waters with Saab Seaeye Falcon ROV (https://www.saabseaeye.com/news/seaeye-falcon-thrives-in-crocodile-infested-waters)
a low-impact option for surveying vast areas
As AUVs are entirely reliant on onboard power supply, which is often provided by batteries, every aspect of the vehicle – from the hull to the propulsion to the sensor payload – is designed with a strong emphasis on energy efficiency. Long range AUVs, such as the National Oceanography Centre's (NOC) Autosub Long Range [2], can travel for up to six months between charges, collecting data over thousands of kilometres. Unlike ships, which are much larger and have engines, AUVs have a minimal impact on the environment. Even semi-submersible AUVs, which use diesel engines, create much less pollution than large, seagoing vessels.​
a 'choose your own adventure' of data collection
​Whereas the first AUVs were only capable of executing simple missions, such as travelling between two points, current AUVs have decision-making abilities that allow deviation from a pre-planned mission if necessary. For example, AUVs can avoid collisions with sensed objects in their path (e.g. iceberg, submarine volcano, or another vessel) without prior knowledge of their existence. Decision-making abilities are extremely important as most of the ocean remains relatively unknown and experiences constantly variable conditions. Regardless of how much prior knowledge is available concerning the mission, no mission can plan for every eventuality. This creates significant challenges for an AUV, which must be able to independently process inputs from an alien environment and adjust its goal(s) based on how to best fulfill the objectives set by its human operators. This is difficult even for humans (as those of you who, like me, are well-aware of from repeated failures of those 'Choose Your Own Adventure' kids' books from the 1980s-1990s). However, successful demonstrations of AUV autonomy often provide data that would be difficult, if not impossible, to capture by other means - like animal behaviour. For a really neat example of this - an AUV following sharks - see BIOGEOCHEM-GINEERING (coming soon!).