AML Oceanographic discusses how its Endura-3 and Endura-6 profiling instruments address a persistent constraint in long-endurance Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) operations. Read more >>
Although uncrewed surveys can offer greater efficiency and cost effectiveness than traditional crewed surveys, USVs still rely on the frequent collection of accurate profiles. Profiling capability can be constrained by finite battery life and the fragility of mechanical connectors, requiring operators to compromise on deployment duration or the number of casts. Connectors and cabling can also introduce complication, wear, and tear, while increasing the likelihood of human maintenance or intervention.
Designed specifically for USV deployments, the Endura Loggers use connector-free wireless charging and support unlimited profiling for hydrographic, environmental, and scientific missions. The Endura instruments remove the need for external connectors during deployment, while retaining a USB connector for convenience in the workshop. This design also eliminates cabling from the profiling solution, removing components that commonly cause complication, wear, and tear.
Development of the Endura Wireless Charging System
In 2019, Saildrone approached AML Oceanographic with a need to conduct a hydrographic profile on its long-endurance uncrewed sailing surface vehicle. AML developed an AML-6 wireless charging solution using technology based on modern Qi-compatible devices, including smartphones. Saildrone incorporated the solution into its Voyager and Surveyor bathymetry platforms, demonstrating what AML describes as the first truly independent, long-endurance, USV-based hydrographic survey.
AML Oceanographic developed the Endura-3 and Endura-6 as second-generation systems to address the alignment limitations of the first-generation Qi charging system. The updated design provides increased axial charging tolerance and has five times the range of the first-generation system, while removing the need for radial alignment. Its cylindrical form makes alignment a one-dimensional process, allowing the instrument to be pulled into the charger tube using a winch set point or a hard stop.
The charging system also provides state indication through a front-panel LED for workshop use and a GPIO pin pattern that allows the USV to evaluate operating status at sea. Three of the charger’s six pins can be used to determine the charger’s state and diagnose multiple error conditions remotely.
The Endura-3 deployed on Seatrac’s SP-48 USV.
Reliability has been demonstrated through extensive in-house bench testing and thousands of hours of deployment, including extended deployments involving Saildrone and SeaTrac’s remote platforms. One deployment used an Endura-3 on SeaTrac’s SP-48 USV during a fourteen-day mission conducted in partnership with the University of Southern Mississippi to analyze potential hypoxia levels and their impact on marine life along the US Gulf Coast.
AML Oceanographic has more than 50 years of experience manufacturing oceanographic data loggers, sondes, and probes. The Endura Loggers were designed to “set and forget,” with development focused on delivering reliable, robust charging performance in challenging uncrewed environments.
Read ‘“This simplifies everything” – The First Infinite Endurance Profiling Instrument Designed Specifically for USVs’ for more information.
