Navy seeks information for expanding underwater autonomous capabilities

By Abby Shepherd / October 29, 2024 at 2:40 PM

The Navy is seeking information on autonomous capabilities for various purposes, including the ability for autonomous underwater and surface vehicles to react to sensor observations without the need for an operator, according to a request for information posted last week.

Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division is interested in technologies that can avoid obstacles, track and follow targets based on sensor input, replan routes, reprioritize tasks in real time and monitor sensor health.

The naval division is also requesting information on “capabilities for localizing and monitoring seabed infrastructure using uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) and uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs),” in another notice posted last week.

Submissions should include information on automatic target recognition to be used to detect, localize, avoid and monitor seabed infrastructure and obstacles. This type of infrastructure and obstacles include cables, pipes, mine-like objects, nets, boulders and wrecks in the water.

The Navy is requesting technology that can fulfill all the capabilities listed above, without an operator in the loop.

“Technologies capable of externally monitoring the status of seabed infrastructure without having direct contact or access to the infrastructure (such as automatically assessing damage or changes in infrastructure via acoustic, visual, magnetic, or other sensing mechanisms) over an extended time period involving multiple UUV or USV missions in an area are also of interest,” the notice adds.

Responses to both Navy RFIs are due by November 26.

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