Expendable Direct Sensing for AUV Based Geotechnical Survey Operations Navy STTR FY2014.A Sol No.: Navy STTR FY2014.A Topic No.: N14A-T022 Topic Title: Expendable Direct Sensing for AUV Based Geotechnical Survey Operations Proposal No.: N14A-022-0150 Firm: Metron, Inc. 1818 Library Street Suite 600 Reston, Virginia 20190-6242 Contact: Martin Siderius Phone: (503) 725-3223 Web Site: www.metsci.com Abstract: There is a documented high priority Navy need to substantially reduce Mine Countermeasures (MCM) tactical survey mine hunting and neutralization timelines in support of relevant Operational Plans (OPLANs) and Concept of Operation Plans (CONPLANs). Hence there is also a need to minimize the time and resources required to conduct MCM baseline surveys (and re-surveys) in key Continental United States (CONUS) and Outside Continental United States (OCONUS) Maritime Homeland Security (MHS) and Navy areas of interest (AOIs). Hence the purpose of the innovative autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) based geotechnical survey operations related sensing and processing initiatives proposed here is to investigate advanced (but low-cost) unmanned sensing and processing options addressing this critical Navy/MHS need. Benefits: If successful, this technology has application to all Navy and MHS MIW/MCM operations in CONUS and OCONUS. Transition of this technology is possible via numerous Navy Programs of Record (PORs), including LBS-UUV, Knifefish, and other ONR and Navy UUV programs such as the Small Synthetic Aperture Minehunter 3 (SSAM3) program and to standard Navy tools such as the NSWC-PCD Shallow Water Acoustic Toolset (SWAT). Dual use applications of the proposed techniques include offshore construction, survey, and search operations. Return