Kongsberg Underwater Technology (KUTI) has commenced production on the Konsberg Seaglider autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) at its facility in Lynnwood, Washington, US.
This development comes after the company received an exclusive licence from the University of Washington to develop, manufacture and market the Seaglider system, in May 2013.
In addition to manufacturing, the Lynnwood plant will also refurbish or upgrade the existing systems.
KUTI underwater glider systems general manager Rich Patterson said: “We are very happy with the progress of our underwater glider systems programme.”
“In only six months we have been able to establish a top-notch engineering and production group, and we are busy fulfilling orders for several systems that will ship during the first half of the year.”
The Seaglider concept was developed at the University of Washington in Seattle with funding from the US Office of Naval Research.
The underwater glider has been developed for continuous, long-term measurement of oceanographic parameters and is capable of deploying a range of sensors, making it a cost-effective instrument for accumulating huge ocean data.
Unlike an electrically driven propeller, the AUV uses wings and small changes in buoyancy to achieve forward motion, while pitch and roll are controlled using an adjustable ballast, which allows for deployment of up to nine months at a time.
The Kongsberg Seaglider team has completed extensive training with the university’s seaglider fabrication centre personnel.