The USV will serve as an alternative to manned boats, which often can’t come near the coast due to strong waves or other natural factors, UAVOS notes. UAVOS says that its USV is built to address the issue of delivering fuel or cargo to hard-to-reach coastal areas.
The USV is based on a SeaDoo water scooter, and UAVOS says that its automatic control system will be integrated into the water bike. Additionally, a “hermetic upper casing and a pneumatic gun with an inertia-free coil for the cable” will be manufactured.
Under the terms of the project, a USV comes out from the ship’s board to tow the cable to the shore, by which the fuel supply hose will be forwarded. Without reaching the shore, the cable is fired with a pneumatic gun, and lands on a parachute at an appointed place.
Using a winch, an on-shore team pulls the fuel hose by the cable and fills the tanks with fuel. Freight delivery can be performed in the same way. Once the mission is complete, the USV returns to the ship, and is recovered with the assistance from the ship’s crane beam.
Cable towing is currently carried out by main boats, but UAVOS says tthat often, the ship can’t come close to the coastline because safe distance to the shore can be up to two kilometers. Other factors such as strong waves and surf lead to refueling ships often times having to wait long times for favorable conditions, which not only complicates mission planning, but also increases cost of operation. For more information, visit uavos.com.
