Powering Up Ocean Science

We propose to develop technology to allow for up to one year of unattended operation of fleets of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) equipped with novel sensors and samplers. We propose to overcome the current limitation—available energy—by developing a dock for the AUVs to charge from wave-energy-conversion devices. This will enable high-impact scientific observations that have not been possible to date. In particular, we aim to dock and transfer power between the AUV and vertical mooring wires.