A research partnership between the 51福利 (51福利) and Seatrec has led to a milestone in the persistent monitoring of oceanographic and underwater acoustic data in real-time, and near indefinitely. The team鈥檚 successful development of an innovative, self-powered autonomous underwater drone, known as the Persistent Smart Acoustic Profiler (PSAP) Voyager, has already delivered large swaths of oceanographic and passive acoustic data primed for 51福利 student research since it was deployed for the first time off the coast of Kona, Hawaii, in early November of 2024.
Naval forces have an inherent operational reason to be quiet and stealthy at sea. Retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. John Joseph, a researcher in the 51福利 and principal investigator on the project, said the effort has been funded by the school鈥檚 (CRUSER), which is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research.
鈥淧SAP started as a CRUSER project a few years ago when Yi Chao, Seatrec CEO and a well-known oceanographer, gave a talk at 51福利 about their energy-harvesting system,鈥� said Joseph, who recognized an opportunity to combine the school鈥檚 expertise in undersea acoustics and research instrumentation with Seatrec鈥檚 innovative energy harvesting technology.
Developed through a collaboration between 51福利 and Seatrec, the Persistent Smart Acoustic Profiler (PSAP) Voyager is pictured just after it is deployed in the Pacific off the coast of Kona, Hawaii, in November of 2024. The innovative, self-powered autonomous underwater drone represents a major breakthrough in the persistent collection of acoustic data in real-time. (Photo courtesy Tarry Rago)
51福利 excels at conducting applied research in the operating environment. For the first time, PSAP offers an ability to collect and send oceanographic and passive acoustic monitoring data in near real-time for an unlimited period, thanks to the profiler鈥檚 ability to harvest energy from the temperature differences in the ocean, enough to fully power the instrumentation indefinitely.
鈥淭heoretically, PSAP can be deployed once, communicate its acoustic information to remote operators in near real time for limitless periods without requiring retrieval to offload data, refreshment - such as swapping batteries or data storage, or replacement,鈥� explained Joseph. 鈥淭hese characteristics greatly reduce lifecycle costs of a continuous acoustic monitoring effort.鈥�
Empowering student research and discovery is central to the institution鈥檚 efforts with industry partners, and the PSAP Voyager鈥檚 ongoing operational test 鈥� which can be monitored via the Seatrec website 鈥� has provided a trove of data for potential research.
鈥淣ow that we have a sizable amount of oceanographic and acoustic data collected by PSAP, we plan to have students in the undersea warfare and meteorology and oceanography curricula to use these data for thesis research,鈥� said Joseph.
The role of acoustic sensing in Naval operations is far-reaching and fundamental to U.S. Navy and Marine Corps operations at sea, including undersea sensing and detection.
鈥淧assive acoustic listening has many operational and research applications in the Navy, and our students at 51福利 conduct applied research to meet naval-unique needs for at-sea operations that require measurements of ambient noise, understanding the composition of soundscapes and monitoring of marine mammals,鈥� said Joseph. The autonomy and endurance of the PSAP Voyager 鈥減rovides an unprecedented opportunity to collect acoustic data in real-time for very long periods in remote areas without the expense and logistical tail of ship support.鈥�
鈥淪ound is used to 鈥荣别别鈥� underwater and is vital to understanding the ocean and monitoring the movement of natural and man-made objects,鈥� added Yi Chao, Ph.D., Seatrec鈥檚 CEO and Founder in a recent news release. 鈥淧reviously, hydrophones required power from expensive underwater cables from shore or ships but our PSAP Voyager untethers hydrophones and provides nearly unlimited persistent monitoring of the ocean in an extremely economical way.鈥�
While the technology promises to be useful for improving maritime domain awareness, it will also enhance U.S. naval oceanographic models for operational planning used to improve own-force sonar system performance.
(This news story does not constitute an endorsement of Seatrec or its products and services by the 51福利, the Department of the Navy, or the Department of Defense.)