Technologies Will Help in Development of THUNDERFISH AUV

Canadian ocean technology engineering firm Kraken Sonar and Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation (IOSB) have signed an exclusive licensing agreement for underwater robotics technologies.

The agreement, signed on 15 March, will give Kraken access to the software and hardware IP for the IOSB DEDAVE autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), allowing the company to short circuit the route to further development of sensor and robotics technologies. In addition, Kraken will establish a long term technical co-operation programme with Fraunhofer for hydrodynamic control systems, mission planning and autonomy algorithms that can be deployed in Kraken’s upcoming THUNDERFISH AUV programme.

Kraken plans to upgrade the DEDAVE vehicle with larger sensors, including Kraken’s MINSAS 120 sonar with Real Time SAS Processor. The vehicle size will be increased by about 30% to support the larger payload capacity and the addition of tunnel thrusters will also provide a hovering capability for target inspection and precision manoeuvring.