In October 2024, a team of government, academic, and industry partners undertook an exciting effort to expand the capabilities of uncrewed systems in order to support NOAA missions to map, characterize, and explore the submerged waters of the United States.
Co-led by the NOAA Uncrewed Systems Operations Center and University of New Hampshire with support from the NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute, several parts of NOAA, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and Exail, the month-long seafloor mapping mission tested the use of two NOAA-owned DriX uncrewed surface vehicles operated from a shore-based operations center. The project built on work by NOAA and its partners undertaken since 2021 to operationalize DriX vehicles for gathering seafloor mapping data.
The month-long mission focused on testing the concept of remotely operating multiple uncrewed vehicles from a shore-based operations center– a first for the project team. This involved exploring the use of two simultaneous uncrewed surface vehicles, the maintenance and support of those vehicles, the safety of operations, the role of trained personnel in supporting operations, and more. From this exploration, the project team aimed to better understand the efficiency of remotely operating multiple uncrewed vehicles for science missions and to develop protocols for future operations.
The mission took place in the Gulf of Maine, approximately 75 miles east of Boston (see map to right). Each DriX uncrewed surface vehicle is equipped with high-resolution multibeam sonar, used to map the seafloor and detect objects in the water column or along the seafloor. They are capable of operating for upwards of three days at a time before returning to shore for routine checks and refueling.
The shore-based operations center was at the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at the University of New Hampshire with an additional mobile servicing and support center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, at the tip of Cape Cod.
By operating multiple vehicles at once the project team aimed to dramatically increase the efficiency of offshore survey operations, potentially increasing the area that can be mapped and explored in a given time, enhancing safety of operations, reducing operational costs, reducing environmental impacts, and improving the quality of life for personnel whose ocean surveying careers often require months at sea, all while increasing the volume and quality of data in areas that are important to our nation’s economic livelihood and general wellbeing. The DriXes returned to the mobile servicing center on Cape Cod when needed. Beyond testing this concept of operations, the collected mapping data will fill gaps in areas of great interest for its ecological and societal value.
While operations have wrapped up, the project team is still learning new things from the effort. The project proved to be a great opportunity to explore the operating model of tandem uncrewed surface vehicle operations controlled from a shore-based operations center. The project team gained critical insight on the resources needed to perform multi-platform uncrewed systems operations 24/7, along with the roles of human operators, technicians, and other experts in such uncrewed work.
The DriXes surveyed over 2,600 linear nautical miles and gathered bathymetric data of the seafloor as it surveyed. Like the data gathered from NOAA’s hydrographic survey vessels, the data gathered from the DriXes during this project will be processed and incorporated into NOAA Office of Coast Survey’s hydrographic maps and other products. When not surveying the seafloor, the project team experimented with different hardware and software elements of the DriX platforms and operations center to improve the quality of data gathered and efficiency of effort.
While field operations are over for the Dual DriX Project, the work is not done. Technical and scientific experts are still evaluating the concept of operations for the project and assessing the collected mapping data. Lessons learned and data acquired throughout the project can help fill gaps and improve future survey efforts focused on hydrography, fisheries habitat assessment, underwater archaeology, and more.
Check out the NOAA Ocean Exploration website to learn more about the mission.