Unlocking the power of AUVs and USVs to map the world’s oceans: Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE
The Ocean Floor Geophysics (OFG) AUV team is proud to be part of a world first with the GEBCO-NF Alumni Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE team: autonomous seafloor survey with our world class Hugin survey and pipeline inspection AUV “Chercheur“.
AUV Chercheur was launched from the Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) Sea-Kit, performed a high resolution seafloor survey with USBL positioning and communications to the USV, and was recovered by the USV.
This accomplishment by the GEBCO-NF Alumni team represents a huge stride forward autonomous mapping of the ocean’s depths, supported by experts, resources, and equipment from the Nippon Foundation, GEBCO-NF Alumni, Ocean Floor Geophysics, Hushcraft, Kongsberg Maritime, and Teledyne Caris.