Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), HUGIN Edge

HUGIN Edge includes significant new features and capabilities. These include an innovative forward looking sonar design providing 3D sensing capabilities for improved trajectory planning and directional collision avoidance coupled to traditional forward scanning methodology.

Better mission planning

To enable greater interoperability, the vehicle is equipped with the latest open interfaces for integration to 3rd party planning and mission management tools. There are also new tools specifically designed to optimise results for every deployment. Central to these are goal-based mission planning tools and mission execution.

The mission planning capabilities provides a higher-level mission planning interface, requiring less specialist knowledge and input by the operator. Mission objectives may include sounding density, or detection probability enabling the AUV to calculate the actual waypoints, operational parameters and sensor configuration. In-mission adaptive execution allows HUGIN Edge to make several decisions autonomously, continuously replanning during mission execution as more information about the surrounding environment is gathered by the sensors.

It is these in-mission edge-processing capabilities that drive step-changes in both performance and efficiency for all operations.

Unique in design

Measuring less than 4 metres long, HUGIN Edge weighs approximately 300kg. It is packaged with the latest battery technology to provide more than 24 hours operation at depths of up to 1000 metres. The general arrangement includes the next generation of KONGSBERG synthetic aperture sonar, a high frequency multibeam echosounder and a swappable camera or sub-bottom profiler. This configuration has been designed to cover most geophysical survey requirements, as well as mine-countermeasures, rapid environmental assessment, search and recovery, as well as the survey of critical national infrastructure.

From inception HUGIN Edge is designed to operate from Uncrewed Surface Vehicles (USVs), small surface vessels and from shore. The design has been developed around Kongsberg’s automated Launch and Recovery (LAR) with battery charging through inductive power providing true over the horizon operations.  This capability removes the human from the field of operations, enabling supervision from afar to minimising operational risk, maximise safety and deliver the lowest carbon footprint.