New capabilities of the REDERMOR unmanned underwater vehicle

Abstract

GESMA has worked on self-propelled vehicles and robotic systems since the beginning of the Nineties. The GESMA unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) REDERMOR is an experimental platform developed during a French-British collaborative remote mine-hunting system project . A remote operating vehicle (ROV) was developed to test different concepts of mine hunting. This vehicle is versatile and exists in three different versions. Today, we work on a nontraditional navigation unmanned undersea vehicle guidance and control research project. Side scan sonar and front looking sonar (traditionally used to detect mines) are used to improve navigation. Specific software has been developed and the vehicle modified to improve design and performance. Following integration of several new sensors, the REDERMOR II is able to execute missions lasting several hours in autonomous mode.