The expected customers are fresh and saltwater researchers, maritime defense, offshore farmers, inspectors, surveyors, search & recovery, teachers, and all other end-users in the marine community. The world’s waters have always fascinated humankind and offer us opportunities for educational and commercial uses. However, only the most highly trained and equipped experts regularly venture beyond easy reach.
The unmet customer or market needs we are addressing are as follows:
Ability to quickly and easily access underwater sites beyond your visual line-of-sight.
Ability, in real time, to remotely control the flight and underwater exploration at the desired site.
Affordably explore large marine areas with a variety of high-quality video and other tools.
Reduce or eliminate the need for expensive and potentially risky manned exploration of the area.
Innovative approaches for restoration and monitoring our aquatic ecosystem and water system.
Efforts to create operational procedures to integrate amphibious drone systems.
Value Proposition
There is a world filled with an abundance of beauty, color, and life that’s been out of reach until now.
This amphibious drone is useful for complex observation tasks in the sky and on and under the water.
It can land in dangerous water locations where human threat is of major concern and inaccessible water bodies with boats are effortlessly accessed with the aid of the multi-rotor UAV and then continue to have full fidelity control of the underwater ROV beyond the user’s visual line-of-sight.
This project will do what the multi-rotor UAV did for the aerial community to the marine community.
Innovation
This Hybrid Aerial-Amphibious Drone (HAAD) is a combined aerial drone and underwater drone that work together as a cooperative system for air and open water exploration. The aerial component can be launched from a control station on the ground or ship, wirelessly travel to the target place up to 1/4 mile away, land, and deploy a tethered underwater component that can dive up to 130 feet below the waves in a distant target area, all with high fidelity remote operation. HAAD allows for zero (preprogrammed), one or two pilots to safely operate the drone in flight and underwater. The controls and software make it simple for a person with little experience to pilot. As this dual-mode operation is a new field, this project includes foundational investigation of operational procedures, best practices, and processes for legal, safe, environmentally friendly, and effective operations. HAAD dramatically expands the ability to search or research underwater in a large area around the operator.
Project Summary
Potential Outcome(s)
Industry Standard Operational Procedures (SOP) and an amphibious drone system with combined aerial and underwater capabilities, called Hybrid Aerial – Amphibious Drone (HAAD).
This project outcomes reduces large area open water exploration investments to advance, if not transform, our knowledge and understanding of our aquatic ecosystem and water system, so we can more effectively manage, conserve, regulate, and use open water resources that are vital to our economy and to all of our lives.
Technical Hurdle(s)
Developing HAADs multi-robot ecosystem to reduce pilot workload, augment mission performance, and improve multi-domain operation safety and reliability under challenging weather and operating conditions. Also, the development and implementation of industry-standard operating procedures to facilitate recreational and commercial safe operations into the National Airspace and Oceanic System.
Goals of R&D
To concentrate on R&D of an amphibious drone system, which will significantly de-risk the high-impact technology innovation and contribute to proving the scientific and technical feasibility, and to de-risk the high-impact technology innovation and commercialization potential of the proposed effort to attract partnerships.
Plan to Reach Goals
Because we are working in an area where mistakes are allowed and there is no similar complete copy of something already done, an accelerated intense creative design methodology comprising of; Intuitive Synthesis, Future Scenario, Robot Simulation, Rapid Prototype, Evaluation, Iteration, and Documentation will be used to develop the system. In addition, a SCORE mentor, forming partnerships, and enrolling in assistance programs, and collaborating with institutions and organizations will help start and build the business.
Broader/Commercial Impact
Upon success, a proven and marketable recreational and commercial amphibious drone system, including hardware, firmware, software, and trial blazing industry standards to support multi-domain applications, will bring the innovation closer to commercialization under a sustainable business model. The potential commercial and market impact that such a commercialization effort would affect several marine industries; expanding participation, efficiency, and capabilities in maritime operations will raise the commercial and market value exponentially. The potential broader societal impacts that such a commercialization effort would affect our aquatic ecosystem and water system. Estuary, ports, coastal systems, as well as lake environments have remained a critical key in understanding all aspects of the water system, including their interactions with people and the integrated earth system. This knowledge is critical to maximizing human potential and addressing many of Earth’s most pressing challenges involving Earth processes, such as allowing coastal communities success in preparing for the future and for assessing the long-term sustainability of our Blue Planet.