ASV Global has received a contract from the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) to supply a C-Worker 5 USV, the company announced on 21 March.
The USV will be used for testing, training, and establishing procedures and protocols for use of the system by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on future hydrographic programmes.
The C-Worker 5 is an 18ft, diesel powered USV with an endurance of seven days at seven knots. It has a keel flange for subsurface payload equipment and an air conditioned 19in rack in the hull for topside payload electronics. The USV can also accommodate an oceanographic winch and A-frame that can be used to deploy a variety of sensors.
Monty Graham, director of USM’s School of Ocean Science and Technology, said: ‘The C-Worker 5 from ASV Global will be a great addition to support USM’s growing capabilities in unmanned marine systems certification and our research toward improved mapping and charting in the Hydrographic Science Research Center.’
An accompanying dual davit launch and retrieval system has been developed by ASV Global to deploy the USV from a ship. The complete USV and launch and recovery system can be shipped in a standard 20ft ISO container.
C-Worker 5