Prof Stephen Turnock and Dr Jon Downes from the Maritime Robotics Lab attended the kick off meeting of the EUH2020 projects BRIDGES in Paris recently. This 4 year, 8Meuro project aims to develop two deep water gliders.
Autonomous underwater gliders use a device, similar to a fish’s swim bladder to alter their buoyancy and  glide on wings either upwards or downward depending on whether they are lighter or heavier than water.  They are very energy efficient and can carry out tasks that last for months and can travel large distances.
A video gives an overview of the project by one of the 19 project partners Armines. The University of Southampton’s work will concentrate on the hydrodynamic design of the external shape of the hull and an auxiliary hybrid propeller for seabed survey at depth. This builds on our expertise in CFD and testing of AUVs such as Delphin2 using wind tunnels and towing tanks.