Designing Future Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

So far, defense companies have done a credible job fielding Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), or other water-borne robots to address critical capability requirements such as Inspection, Search and Reconnaissance (ISR) and underwater terrain mapping. There is an ongoing and continuous stream of small incremental improvements to these technologies, but there remains a large gap between what is needed and what is available. The challenges are significant. However, with the rate at which all technologies are advancing and the number of researchers, engineers, and business entities investing time and resources into the growing field of robotics, once seemingly unachievable challenges are being overcome through current optimistic and enthusiastic efforts.