Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Bluefin contracts its underwater robot to gather ocean data

By Mass High Tech Staff

Bluefin Robotics Corp. reports it has reeled in a contract for its spray glider autonomous underwater vehicle from Horizon Marine Inc.

Horizon Marine bought the system for an undisclosed amount. The Marion-based company analyzes oceanographic data for use in mapping, modeling and forecasting significant events for customers in the oil and gas industry.

Bluefin’s glider is a buoyancy-driven autonomous underwater vehicle that collects water column data profiles using a pumped oceanographic–grade conductivity-temperature-depth sensor, according to the company. The glider moves by transferring hydraulic fluid between its pressure hull and flooded payload compartment, creating buoyancy, which is transferred to forward motion by a pair of wings. Bluefin said the glider, which moves in a zig-zag pattern, can be deployed for over six months.

Bluefin licensed the glider technology from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in 2004.

In February, the U.S. Navy exercised an option on a previously awarded contract, worth a potential $29 million, with Bluefin for its Bluefin-9 mine-detecting AUV.

Bluefin was founded in 1997 and is a subsidiary of the Battelle Memorial Institute.