Add-on Hardware Capabilities
Length
The base UUV measures 0.95 m in length. It can be extended up to 2.5 m by adding three additional 400 mm-long bottles. Beyond this length, the vehicle no longer qualifies as a micro-UUV.
More details on the available options for extending the UUV with dry and wet payload bays can be found here..
Depth rating
Available with 60 m or 600 m depth ratings by swapping out depth-critical components. Custom configurations are possible for depths up to 1000 m.
Endurance
Base vehicle endurance can be extended up to 5x by adding extra battery modules.
Surface communication
The base vehicle relies on the onboard Wi-Fi module of the Raspberry Pi 4 embedded computer. To enhance surface communications, we currently support the following add-on options:
- Soracom Onyx Cellular Module – Provides 4G connectivity when the UUV is on the surface and within range of cellular towers, with support for both static and dynamic IP configurations. Users can freely choose their preferred service provider.
- Iridium 9603 modem – Enables satellite connectivity when the UUV is surfaced with clear sky visibility (not suitable under ice cover).
Underwater communication
The base vehicle does not include underwater communication by default. However, an extended version of the UUV is available with the HydroNet Nexus modem – a fully programmable underwater modem and edge processing platform that supports in-water communication, networking, sensing, and AI-powered analytics. Its modular, software-defined architecture enables key capabilities such as acoustic and optical communication, underwater mesh networking, and real-time, edge-deployed data processing.
Other types of acoustic modems are also available upon request.
Compute power
The base vehicle comes with a Raspberry Pi 4 as the backseat computer and a PocketBeagle as the frontseat computer. For applications requiring greater computing power, the Raspberry Pi can be upgraded to a Jetson Nano.
Navigation sensors
On top of the base navigation sensor package, the UUV can be outfitted with the following complementary sensors:
- Nortek Nucleus DVL – Available in downward- or upward-looking configurations, integrated with the HydroMAN (full) navigation software package.
- Blue Robotics Ping Sonar Altimeter – Configurable for altitude tracking, enforcing minimum altitude limits, and forward/side-looking obstacle detection and tracking.
Payload sensors
The base configuration does not include any application-specific payload sensors. However, the vehicle supports the following add-on sensors:
- Nortek Nucleus DVL/ADCP – Configurable in downward- or upward-looking orientations.
- Blue Robotics Sonar Altimeter – Configurable downward, upward, forward, or side-looking for applications such as bathymetry and ice-thickness measurements, and object tracking/avoidance.
- Towed Bodies and Sensor Arrays – The UUV can tow long arrays (tested up to 30 m), and custom towed arrays can be integrated with the base vehicle.
- Cerulean 450 Side Scan Sonar (work in progress) – For bathymetric mapping.
- Custom Scientific Sensor Module (can be developed upon request) – Includes an array of water quality sensors such as pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, and temperature.
In addition, users can extend the UUV with dry or wet payload bays (or both) to integrate their own sensors. Read more..