The Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR), based at The University of Sydney, has purchased one Iver2 EP42 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV).
The ACFR is dedicated to the research, development, application and dissemination of field robotics principles. The Iver EP42 AUV model will enable further research into existing high-resolution stereo imaging for marine habitat surveying as well as studies focused on developing extended mission duration AUV systems.
Researchers will initially look at a number of key elements including optimising AUV and sensor power, survey planning and optimisation and sampling techniques to maximise coverage area and resolution.
The newly released Iver2 EP42 design provides users with an additional 12in of payload space along with an added 200-watt-hours of lithium-ion rechargeable battery capacity (for a total capacity of 760 watt-hours).
In addition, the EP42 utilises two OceanServer designed Intel Atom based 1.6GHz CPUs optimised for minimal power consumption and additional IOs. This new platform also takes advantage of improved solid state drive technology with very fast read/write speeds, robust mechanical construction, low power consumption and better resistance to temperature, shock and vibration.
The EP42 comes with an intuitive API and reference software, offering researchers faster development times for sensor integration and AUV behaviour studies.
All Iver2 AUV models come standard with OceanServer’s VectorMap Mission Planning and Data Presentation tool, which provides geo-registered data files that can be easily exported to other software analysis tools.
The VectorMap program can input any geo-referenced chart, map or photo image, allowing the operator to intuitively develop missions using simple point-and-click navigation.
The base vehicle, with a starting price at just over $50,000, gives university, government and commercial users an affordable base-platform for development or survey applications in water quality, hydrography, sub surface security and general research.
