FUSION Hybrid AUV/ROV

FUSION is a hybrid underwater vehicle that runs as a tethered ROV, an autonomous AUV or a Diver Control Module without changing hardware. It combines wide-area survey and close-in intervention in one deployment with one operator, and as a battery-powered system it needs no surface generator.

Key features

• Imaging: forward-looking and side-scan sonar plus a 4K camera with a custom 8.29-megapixel sensor, time-synchronized
• Navigation: DVL, AHRS, GNSS and optional USBL for sub-meter positioning
• Environmental sensing: pressure, temperature, vacuum and humidity
• Nadir Gap Filler: proprietary software that removes the side-scan blind spot beneath the vehicle
• Severed tether assurance: a USBL subsystem and acoustic modem let the vehicle take AUV commands if the tether is cut
• Standoff of up to 2 km in ROV mode on fiber tether
• Lithium-ion batteries, with a NiMH option for air travel

Applications

Mine countermeasures, special operations, underwater surveillance, search and recovery, hull inspection and Coast Guard missions.