TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Ground/Sea Vehicles, Sensors

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PMS 501 - Littoral Combat Ship - ACAT 1D

OBJECTIVE: Develop and demonstrate a dynamic, motion compensation system to enable the steady towing of sensors from small surface craft.

DESCRIPTION: The next generation of Navy will employ unmanned surface vehicles to operate sensors in the performance of mine countermeasure, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare operations. However, these small surface craft lack the control authority to counter random and chaotic surface movements as they move through the water. These movements can occur in multiple, simultaneous axes and mixed time scales depending on unpredictable wave and wind influences. Tow bodies such as sensors, can be highly sensitive to even minor surface craft movement as the tow cable transmits and sometimes amplifies these motions resulting in unacceptable performance degradation. This currently necessitates the use of semi-submersible platforms that are largely decoupled from surface effects to provide a stable towing platform. The ability to sense the full-range of these motions in real-time, anticipate likely effects on a towed sensor through a wide variety of speed and depth conditions, and apply corrective force or action quickly and accurately exceeds the capabilities of any current system.

In order to facilitate the use of a common unmanned surface craft for the widest possible range of missions, a system is required to precisely monitor and counter small craft motions to eliminate the need for an additional semi-submersible platform, eliminate tow-line heave and maintain near constant altitudes (above the ocean bottom) for up to and including a sea state 4 conditions at various headings over extended durations. The proposed system will be required to provide the capability to safely launch, tow, and recover representative tow bodies from manned or unmanned surface vehicles up to 11 meters in length.

PHASE I: Develop and demonstrate the feasibility of a detailed concept for a dynamic motion compensation system that will provide the above capabilities. Approaches should address the concept of operations and projected capabilities, system descriptions, concept drawings, and applicable interface requirements.

PHASE II: Finalize the design, fabricate and demonstrate a prototype of the system developed in Phase I. Through land-based testing, demonstrate the functionality of the prototype in: integration into representative surface craft; integration of representative towed body; and towed body stability over all headings through sea state 4. Develop detailed concept of operation and projected capabilities, prototype descriptions, production drawings, interface specifications, operating sequences, emergency procedures, logistics support plan, weight breakdown, system cost estimates (both acquisition and lifecycle), and manning/Human Systems Interface (H.S.I.) requirements.

PHASE III: Working with the Navy, develop transition plans and demonstrate the commercial and Naval uses of the dynamic motion compensation system.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Private sector applications of towed sensors face the same challenges, prohibiting their use or requiring similarly complex semi-submersible tow platforms. Successful completion of this project to allow relatively simple and inexpensive surface vessels to accurately deploy sensitive towed bodies will have significant commercial value.

REFERENCES:
Available at http://www.navysbir.com/ via the SBIR/STTR Interactive Topic Information System (SITIS) web link
1. "Interface Control Document (ICD) for Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Flight Zero Reconfigurable Mission Systems," Baseline 1.0, 18 February 2005.
2. AN/WLD-1(V)1 Remote Minehunting System Specification Amendment 0005 Dated 26 February 2003.

KEYWORDS: small boat; water craft;towed body; heave; motion compensation; sensors

TPOC: Darryl Updegrove
Phone: (850)235-5142
Fax:
Email: [email protected]
2nd TPOC: Garrett Leavitt
Phone: (850)234-4555
Fax:
Email: [email protected]

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

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