MTS Attends Media Day Tour of Navy`s New Robotics Lab

MTS Attends Media Day Tour of Navy’s New Robotics Lab
by Donna Kocak
T
he Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research
(LASR), located at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington D.C., offers researchers
three unique test environments under a single
roof — a tropical Southeast Asian rainforest, a high desert
with a rock wall, and a littoral zone.
On April 2 the 50,000
square feet facility opened
its doors to the media. Attending the day-long event was
MTS Executive Director Rich Lawson and MTS Vice
President of Publications Donna Kocak.
The lab was established strictly for advancing robotics
and autonomy and is purposely aligned with the Naval
Science & Technology Strategic Plan “to augment
expensive manned systems with less expensive, unmanned fully autonomous systems that can operate
in all required domains1.” Rear Admiral Matthew
Klunder, chief of naval research, was present for
the media event and he noted “[it’s] the first time
that we have, under a single roof, a laboratory that
Continued on page 3
Right: Jason Geder of NRL
(also a contributing author
to the Biomimetics and
Marine Technology issue
of the MTS Journal, July/
August 2011) describes
the features of this
autonomous underwater
vehicle. Far right: NRL’s
underwater flying and
hovering vehicle is based
on characteristics of the
Bird wrasse (Gomphosus
varius) coral reef fish. This
particular version has four
flexible fins, rather than
only two fins like the actual
fish, that allow for increased
sensor payload capacity and greater fore-aft force production
capability needed for heave-pitch control.
Left and above: NRL Researcher Dan Edwards looks like he is holding a computer mouse –
but look again! This mouse is actually a “hide in plain sight” unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
that may be designed to fly into an open window of an office, land on a desk, fold up its
wings and monitor activities in the room without attracting attention.
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May | June 2012
Currents
Societies Joined to Co-Sponsor Marine Forensics Symposium
M
TS joined The Society
of Naval Architects
& Marine Engineering (SNAME) and the
American Society of Naval Engineers
(ASME) in hosting the 2012 International Marine Forensics Symposium.
The event took place in April at National Harbor, MD. The Symposium
encompassed a wide range of maritime
topics, including salvage, rescue, diving and accident analysis, with panel
discussions led by distinguished scientists, archeologists, oceanographers,
engineers and authors who underscored the impact that technological
breakthroughs have had on undersea
exploration.
The keynote speaker was Titanic
expert Paul-Henri (PH) Nargeolet, a
deep-sea pioneer and explorer who
lead the first expedition to map out
the wreck site and debris field of the
Titanic. He discussed critical details
in undersea exploration, including the
advancements made in lighting and
underwater vehicles that made it possible for him to map the wreckage site.
Another major highlight of the
Symposium was the introduction of
the Guidelines to Marine Forensics Investigations Manual. The new manual,
Marine Forensics Symposium keynote speaker Paul-Henri (PH) Nargeolet (second from left) posed
with (l-r) Alfred Pearson, Pierette Simpson and Bill Garsky. PH lead the first expedition to map out
the Titanic wreck site. He discussed the many details of undersea exploration, highlighting many
technological advances that came together to allow undersea mapping.
written in layman’s terms, explains
how to successfully plan and conduct
underwater explorations and investigations. The manual highlights what
was learned from famous historical
shipwrecks and the impact of the
New Technologies Shine at
NRL
continued from page 2
captures all the domains in which our sailors, marines
and fellow DOD service members operate.”
The facility allows researchers a unique opportunity
to transition from benchtop development, to field testing in authentic (simulated) environments, back to the
benchtop for refinements all in the same day — drastically reducing travel time and costs associated with field
testing while increasing reliability and quality of the
prototypes being delivered to the end users.
NRL’s Jason Geder and Ravi Ramamurti, recent contributors to the MTS Journal special issue on Biomimetics and Marine Technology (July/Augus 2011), were on
hand for the event to discuss the benefits of the Littoral
High Bay for their bio-inspired, hovering bird wrasse
AUV.
[1] http://www.onr.navy.mil/About-ONR/sciencetechnology-strategic-plan/Autonomy-Unmanned-Systems.aspx
research on shipbuilding and maritime
explorations and investigations.
(Go to http://www.sname.org/
SNAME/Pubs/Books/ for ordering
information).
Currents, published bimonthly, is a membership benefit of the
Marine Technology Society, the leading multidisciplinary society for
marine professionals. Circulation: 3,600 members
• Send information for Currents to publications@mtsociety.org.
• Send address changes to jeanne.glover@mtsociety.org
Officers
President
VP – Publications
Jerry Boatman
Donna Kocak
jerry.boatman@qinetiq-na.com
dkocak@harris.com
President-Elect
Treasurer
and VP – Budget and Finance
Drew Michel
Debra Kill
rovdrew@earthlink.net
debbi.kill@ise.bc.ca
Immediate Past President
VP
–
Government and Public Affairs
Elizabeth Corbin
Justin Manley
lizcorbin7@gmail.com
jmanley@alum.mit.edu
VP – Section Affairs
Lisa Medeiros
Staff contacts
lmedeiros@oyogeospace.com
Executive Director
VP – Education and Research
Richard Lawson
rich.lawson@mtsociety.org
Jill Zande
jzande@mpc.edu
Editor
VP – Industry and Technology
Mary Beth Loutinsky
Ray Toll
mbloutinsky@gmail.com
Raymond.F.Toll.Jr@saic.com
Currents
May | June 2012
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