General Dynamics Mission Systems featured the Bluefin Robotics hovering autonomous underwater vehicle (HAUV) at OCEANS 2016 in Monterey, California.

HAUV is a two-man-portable hovering AUV designed for ship hull inspection. Equipped with a high-resolution imaging sonar, it surveys ship hulls and other structures with minimal prior knowledge. While surveys are executed autonomously, the operator can manually control the vehicle to further observe features of interest identified in the real-time data.

“Inspecting ship hulls and other underwater surfaces can be a manpower- and cost-intensive part of a ship’s observation and maintenance,” said Matt Graziano, director of autonomous undersea systems for General Dynamics Mission Systems. “This HAUV also reduces the risk to divers when inspecting potential threats attached to a ship’s hull or other structure.”

The HAUV can also conduct undersea observation for port and harbor security, underwater law enforcement investigations, archeological and academic research.