Challenges of the Optonaut Development Project - April 2021

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The Optonaut platform was conceived to provide ocean scientists with access to the benthos over weeks or months at a time; to cover large areas of open ocean cost-effectively, to obtain data necessary for responsible management of the oceanic ecosystem. 

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We take on this challenge with a sense of urgency, as mankind's ability to study the oceanic ecosystem has lagged the accelerating damage done there in the wake of our terrestrial success. We see this modest research tool as an important link, providing better environmental data to help guide better policies to address large-scale ecosystem concerns. 

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The Optonaut Project is rooted in bringing a working modularized solution to the table in the near-term. There exists an immediate need for an LRAUV sensor platform that can affordably deliver the ocean access promised by this architecture. 

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Despite the unassuming size of an Optonaut, the project requires a feat of significant technological and operational integration. We are resource-limited. Our own optical technology is under concurrent development. There are many time-consuming subsystem integration issues for which additional resources could compensate, acting in parallel. At the organizational level, we are exploring every option to bring this AUV tool to life as soon as possible.

 

Opportunities for Collaboration:

-Technical Overview - Click Here-

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• Concept Onboarding- The promise of a cost-effective, fully-PTE SAUV architecture can only be fully realized with acknowledged interest and guidance from potential large-scale patronage. To that end, we seek Advisory, Academic, and collaborative partnerships to guide the development of this versatile research tool.

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• Power Supply-  We are advancing a high-performance energy-harvesting approach to achieving long-endurance in an AUV. The rugged, quasi-perpetual power supply is the subject of an NSF grant proposal; an intelligent power supply is the core enabling subsystem to achieve reliable, cost-effective long-endurance AUV technology.   

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• Sensor Integration-  While commercial low-power CTD, DO, and pH sensors exist for small AUV's, the 'Optonaut' unique "single-board" architecture imposes a need to reconfigure some sensors as board-level PTE modules in an oil-filled envelope. 

Sensors represent a significant line-item on an OptoNaut BOM. Appropriate sensors are presently manufactured for the low-volume market of today's AUV's: reducing their cost is a necessary factor for higher-volume implementation.   

We'll seek alliances with OEM sensor makers, as well as continue development of our own sensors.

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• Acoustics Development- A custom piezoelectric transducer layout will be integrated with the OptoNaut  architecture to exploit the large synthetic aperture and wide receiver footprint that a planar AUV form enables. The low-power acoustic sensor design will likely be a collaborative effort between Optonautics' staff and one or more OEM transducer manufacturers. Volume cost-reduction potential will be an important factor in the acoustic design effort. 
  For initial deployment we are investigating various OTS acoustic solutions: these will serve as our starting point. These functional examples serve to inform modular PCB and transducer area requirements within the laminated PCB endoskeleton. Acoustic sensors planned include DVL, side-scan or iSAS, perimeter collision-avoidance, passive hydrophone and acoustic modem. ​We anticipate that transducer integration with the AI engine will be the subject of active ongoing research.

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• Time/Funding- Optonautics' business model is in development as well. We need to establish an efficient organizational framework in which prospective end-users can introduce evolutionary guidance, and where contributors can be meaningfully rewarded.  The Optonaut Project and other research can only proceed at whatever pace can be afforded. We need a few more expert minds, working in parallel, to bring the OptoNaut to life in a timely way. We suggest the Optonaut as a project that merits the enthusiastic support of the larger ocean science community.  Sponsors could be very helpful.  

• We invite stakeholders, Academia, and technologists to contact us about adding the Optonaut Project to your prospectus.

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