Description
Knowledge and technological development are considered as the main pillars of the National Marine Strategy. To implement this strategy and to achieve and maintain Good Environmental Status (GES) it will be instrumental to increase the operational capacity in the deep-sea domain in a cost effective manner so as to complement existing deep-sea exploration and monitoring tools. The MEDUSA_DS project aims at affording national science and technology stakeholders a system of autonomous cooperative vehicles capable of carrying operations at water depths of up to 3,000 m in remote oceanic areas, with light logistic requirements. The system will support decision-making processes related to marine management and conservation policies in the context of the exploration and sustainable exploitation of the extensive sea floor under national jurisdiction. The envisioned system will build on a field-proven existing shallow water system of cooperative AUVs previously developed by the partner IST, involving all partners in the knowledge extension process to reach the deep-sea. The project will benefit from the proven expertise of partner ARGUS (NO) on deep-sea remotely operated vehicles.
Summary of project results
The project need was related to the objectives of the programe, therefore focusing the demand of new technological solutions (namely autonomous vehicles) to monitor the environmental conditions of coastal and deep waters as well as to explore the deep ocean increasing the knowledge about the ocean both the sea floor and the water column. The main delivery was a new autonomous vehicle, low cost, light logistics, capable to reach 3000 meters depth. The MEDUSADS system was designed to meet the requirements of three typical scenario missions (leaving flexibility for other future developments). 1) Data download and water column profile - The mission of the first scenario was to make AUV MEDUSADS play the role of a data carrier in short periods of time in collaboration with other platforms . 2) Resource exploration and mapping - The second mission scenario seeks to explore and map resources at great depths, including the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In this mission, the MEDUSADS system will have 1 ASV that will collaborate with another 3 to 5 AUVs. 3) High resolution habitat mapping - This scenario concerns the mapping of high resolution habitat with an ASV and 3 to 5 AUVs that perform trajectories. They lie at an altitude of 2-3 meters from the seabed, with high resolution cameras and side sonar set to high resolution. Having developed the concept, several structural and hydrodynamic calculations were carried out, with successive changes in order to optimize the vehicle to its final form. The propulsion system was developed by the ARGUS partner to meet the requirements defined: energy efficient, easy replacement and robust impact. The system responsible for providing power to the various subsystems and the vehicle and mission control system was developed by IST. Once the whole vehicle was produced and the entire mechanical and electrical component was assembled, a successful test campaign was carried out in different operating scenarios that allowed validating the entire development of the MEDUSADS project. In parallel, a project dissemination plan was implemented and implemented. One of the major change relies on the unique conjunction of different capabilities of the members of the consortium (including members from donor countries) to generate a common and shared technological solution. The cooperation process enabled the consortium to implement new projects (e.g. Oceatech). This new project, with an overall budget of 8 Meuro was possible due to the previous experience with Medusa-DS.
Summary of bilateral results
Norwegian and Portuguese engineers in close cooperation have developed and implemented a small size thruster for an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle. This solution became part of Argus offer to the its market. The members of the consortium gained further recognition as developers and providers of oceanic engineering solutions. In particular, through the project, by interacting with foreign partners, CEiiA enhanced its experience in mechanical design, structural and hydrodynamic analysis, electronics and systems integration to conceive, develop and test new products and technologies. The bilateral relations opened new perspectives of future cooperation in other fields (e.g. aquaculture); new projects are being prepared. Consultancy contracts (engineering) have been signed between both parties.