The primary platform manufactured by Independent Robotics is known as ‘Aqua2’. Aqua2 is an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) that uses six independently controlled fins to provide a highly maneuverable underwater sensor platform.
• Deploy the robot without the requirement of support vessels.
• The robot has been tested to a depth of 120’, and has an intended operating range from the shoreline to 100’.
• Collect data from data from onboard cameras and inertial and environmental sensors, from the surf zone to the open ocean.
• Tele-operate Aqua2 from the convenience of the shore, have it operate autonomously, or with a scuba diver.
• The vehicle and its support gear fit in two standard shipping cases that can be carried as standard luggage by commercial airliners.
• Aqua2’s unique technologies are covered by multiple patents.
Highly maneuverable. Lightweight and Portable. An Ideal Research and Sensing Platform.
The Aqua2 vehicle uses six independently controlled fins to propel itself through the underwater environment. This arrangement of highly compliant thrusting surfaces results in a highly maneuverable vehicle that unlike traditional thruster designs poses no danger to humans or sea life and can land or take-off with minimal impact.
The Aqua2 vehicle is extremely lightweight and portable. It can be deployed easily from two standard sized shipping containers that can be transported by commercial aircraft carriers as regular luggage. The vehicle requires no external support vessel for either deployment or operation.
Equipped with cameras mounted fore and aft, and other inertial and environmental sensors, the Aqua2 is specifically designed as a research and sensing platform. Aqua2 has found a wide range of research applications including reef monitoring and aquaculture inspection.
“…the Aqua2 vehicle is the ideal sensor platform for a wide range of tasks in environmental inspection and reclamation, aquaculture, and national defense”.
The vast majority of underwater aquatic vehicles require significant shore support and deployment equipment. In contrast the Aqua2 vehicle — the result of ongoing research efforts in intelligent underwater vehicles — fits in two standard shipping containers and can be deployed by hand. Suitable for operation to depths of up to 100’ and visually guided, the Aqua2 vehicle is the ideal sensor platform for a wide range of tasks in environmental inspection and reclamation, aquaculture, and national defense. Capable of being operated in a tele-operational mode using an Ethernet connection, the Aqua2 vehicle can also operate autonomously using its onboard vision and inertial sensors. The vehicle is available in a wide range of configurations to meet individual researcher and industrial requirements.