Page 9: of Marine Technology Magazine (January 2025)

n January 8, 2025, the U.S. Navy released SBIR posal, payload delivery, and conducting surveillance of subsea 25.1, and among several subsea warfare topics infrastructure for threats or tampering. was one for a novel kind of unmanned underwa- The idea of underwater vehicles crawling along the ocean ter vehicle (UUV) – a maritime expeditionary ? oor is perhaps unusual, but has been under development for

Oresponse crawler, a specialized UUV designed nearly a century. During the waning days of World War II, to operate on the ocean ? oor using legs, tracks, or wheels. German engineers developed Seeteufel, a prototype tracked

Speci? cally, the Navy is seeking a small, compact crawler amphibious midget submarine designed to launch and recover weighing no more than 150 pounds that is capable of conduct- from the beach under its own power. During the Cold War, ing sustained operations for six hours at depths of 600 meters the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered research submarine NR-1, or more. The development and deployment of such a vehicle equipped with a set of bottoming wheels, engaged in covert underscores the Navy’s increasing commitment to subsea and seabed surveillance, mapping, and object recovery missions, seabed warfare (SSW), and to ensuring readiness for the range many of which remain classi? ed to this day. And during the of threats and contingencies that could arise during future un- 1980s, Swedish intelligence uncovered evidence of tracked dersea con? ict. seabed vehicles operating within Swedish territorial waters.

Crawlers bridge the gap between traditional UUVs and re- The origin of these tracks remains a mystery to this day, but motely operated vehicles (ROVs), and are ideal for tasks that it is widely suspected that they were left by innovative Soviet require precision, stability, and sustained seabed operations, submersibles mapping critical infrastructure, gathering intelli- such as inspecting and maintaining underwater infrastructure, gence, and testing Swedish defenses. These early innovations monitoring subsea ecosystems and environmental conditions, laid the groundwork for the seabed crawlers of today, which mapping and analyzing seabed mineral deposits, or assisting leverage advances in marine robotics and underwater technol- in site surveys for oil and gas exploration. In a defense role, ogies to meet contemporary operational needs.

they can be used in mine clearance, explosive ordnance dis- Moving into the unmanned era, ocean crawlers have been

Welcome to the World of ROS Positioners

The Most Complete Line of Reliable and

Accurate Positioners in the Industry

Remote Ocean Systems offers the most complete line of positioners in the industry, engineered for payloads from 10, 20, 100 and up to 350 pounds. All positioners are available in Aluminum housing (standard) but are offered in Stainless Steel and Titanium for maximum longevity in seawater. ROS positioners offer accuracy from +/- 1.5° to 0.1°. ROS AccuPositioner™ is ideal for Sonar applications where precise, computer- controlled accuracy is required. ROS positioners are available as single axis (pan rotation) and dual axis (pan & tilt rotation) configurations with numerous connector options.

For More Information and

Headquarters – San Diego, CA USA

Technical Specifications

Phone: (858) 565-8500

Contact: [email protected] or

Email: [email protected] www.rosys.com

Visit: www.rosys.com www.marinetechnologynews.com 9

MTR #1 (1-17).indd 9 2/3/2025 11:22:21 AM