Backgrounder: New Undersea Technology Offers Fresh Streams Of Knowledge
Western Economic Diversification Canada (WEDC) has provided $800,000 funding for the University of Victoria’s Laboratory for Automation, Communication and Information Systems Research (LACIR) to acquire equipment for UVic’s Ocean Technology Laboratory (OTL).
The OTL will now be able to acquire a Bluefin-12 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and integrate it into the Ocean Technology Test Bed (OTTB), a new facility being built in Saanich Inlet by UVic to support underwater research and development. The bright yellow Bluefin-12 is 148.5 inches in length and 12.75 inches in diameter and is a well-recognized commercial platform produced by Bluefin Robotics in Cambridge, MA (www.bluefinrobotics.com/bluefin12.htm). The vehicle is rated to 200 metres, which will give researchers unlimited access to the depths of Saanich Inlet and beyond. As well, since it is a well-recognized commercial platform, new instruments that UVic will create will have significant commercialization potential.
UVic will take delivery of the custom-built AUV in March 2010.
The OTTB is integrated with the VENUS cabled ocean observatory in Saanich Inlet, on Vancouver Island. It is surrounded by an operational area measuring 2.5 square kilometres; within this area, the OTTB provides communication and monitoring services to enable subsea engineering research.
Traditionally, underwater work that is below depths that are safe for divers has been done by Remotely Operated underwater Vehicles (ROVs): small vehicles that get power and control commands through a tether connected to the surface. In contrast, an AUV performs its mission autonomously, doing what needs to be done without the need for direct human intervention. This autonomy enables AUVs to function without a tether, minimizing the amount of surface support necessary for its operation.
LACIR is responsible for the design and construction of the Ocean Technology Test Bed (OTTB), has collaborated on other engineering research with UVic’s VENUS and NEPTUNE Canada ocean observatory projects and has helped to create a focal point for ocean technology research within the university: the Ocean Engineering Research Group.
LACIR was founded in 1987. The objectives of the centre are to undertake research in the areas of ocean technology and astrophysical instrumentation.
In the eight years Dr. Colin Bradley has been the director, LACIR has been responsible for initiating a number of large scale and high-profile projects. It has had ongoing success in securing both operational and equipment funds from a wide range of sources. Over the past five years, LACIR has been awarded more than $5.28 million in operating funds.
WEDC promotes the development of the western economy by working with provinces, communities, and industry associations as well as coordinating federal economic activities in the West.