ASV Global is working with the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) to develop a containerised autonomous marine laboratory for use in developing countries.
The project is part of the Commonwealth Marine Economies (CME) Programme, a UK Government funded programme which aims to support Commonwealth Small Island Developing States (SIDS) develop and sustain marine economies by ensuring the marine resources that belong to them are better understood and managed.
One output of this Programme is the development of a Containerised Autonomous Marine Environmental Laboratory (CAMEL) that will be utilised by the CME delivery partners; namely the NOC, the UK Hydrographic Office and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) to map and monitor hydrographic, oceanographic and geophysical parameters as part of a range of high quality marine science data sets and providing valuable training as part of capacity building efforts.
The system, housed in a pair of 20 containers will provide a complete autonomous survey and data collection solution to SIDS.
The CAMEL system will comprise an ASV ‘C-Worker 4’ autonomous vessel complete with a range of hydrographic, geophysical and oceanographic sensors. A built in mission control facility will enable users to operate the ASV and its sensors over a radio communications link as well as review and process the data gathered.
The diesel-powered C-Worker 4 will be capable of being launched from a beach trailer to collect coastal data. Its waterjet propulsion makes it an ideal solution for shallow water surveys. The vessel will be able to operate continuously for periods of up to 48 hours.
Upon delivery of the CAMEL system, the SIDS marine community will receive full training by specialist ASV Global autonomous vessel operators and NOC scientists.