Key Points:
- Advanced Navigation’s Hydrus AUV offers compact size, autonomy, and advanced imaging capabilities for underwater exploration.
- Hydrus is utilized for mapping coral reefs, exploring shipwrecks, and conducting marine research, demonstrating its versatility.
- Innovative design features distinguish Hydrus from traditional AUVs, including pressure-tolerant electronics and wireless operation.
- Organizations like the AIMS utilize Hydrus for coral reef monitoring and climate change research, highlighting its significance in marine conservation.
Advanced Navigation, an Australian company, is revolutionizing underwater exploration with its pint-sized autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), Hydrus. With a vision to democratize ocean exploration akin to consumer drones, Hydrus aims to uncover the mysteries of the deep ocean, offering applications for mapping coral reefs, discovering shipwrecks, and much more.
Hydrus, unveiled in 2022, is a compact yet powerful AUV measuring less than half a meter long. Despite its small size, it boasts full autonomy and is equipped with a 4k-resolution camera capable of capturing high-definition video and constructing detailed 3D photogrammetry models. With a depth rating of 3,000 meters, a range of 9 kilometers, and a battery life of up to three hours, Hydrus can easily undertake various missions.
Recently, Advanced Navigation sold two units of Hydrus to the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), which will employ them to survey coral reefs in the North West Shelf region off Australia’s west coast. Additionally, Hydrus collaborated with the Western Australian Museum to produce detailed 3D models of shipwrecks, showcasing its versatility and utility in maritime archaeology.
The key to Hydrus’s success lies in its innovative design and technology. Unlike traditional AUVs that rely on bulky titanium tubes to protect critical components from high pressure and corrosive seawater, Hydrus utilizes bespoke pressure-tolerant electronics. Advanced Navigation meticulously developed circuit boards using components tested under extreme conditions, encasing them in a waterproof composite shell. Moreover, Hydrus operates wirelessly, enabling seamless data transfer and inductive charging for batteries.
Another hallmark of Hydrus is its ease of use. Equipped with inertial navigation technology and a sonar system, it supports autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance, minimizing the need for manual intervention. Users can program waypoints on a map, deploy Hydrus into the water, and let it carry out its mission independently. This simplicity, combined with its compact size, significantly reduces operational costs and enhances accessibility to underwater data.
For organizations like AIMS, Hydrus offers a game-changing solution for marine research. Its ability to operate at greater depths than human divers and in hazardous conditions ensures data collection even in challenging environments. AIMS plans to utilize Hydrus to monitor coral reefs, assess their health, and study their response to climate change—a testament to Hydrus’s potential as a vital tool in ocean conservation and research efforts.
