Brooke Ocean Technology Limited (BOT) and its partner Bluefin Robotics Corp. have recently completed Phase I of two Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects to develop automated payload systems for Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs).

In the first SBIR (No. N04-087, Automated Asset Deployment and Retrieval from Organic Offboard Vehicles), Bluefin and BOT conducted a study to develop, evaluate and select innovative concepts for automated deployment and retrieval (D&R) systems that can deploy a variety of sensors, sources and arrays from USVs, including dipping sonars and towed mine-hunting sonars.

In the second SBIR (No. N04-127, Automated Launch and Recovery of Un-tethered, Mini Unmanned Underwater Vehicles from Unmanned Surface Vehicles), Bluefin and BOT conducted a study to develop, evaluate and select innovative concepts for automated systems capable of launch, recovery, battery recharging and data transfer of small Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) from USVs.

For Phase II of both SBIRs, Bluefin and BOT propose to build, test and demonstrate at-sea performance of full-scale prototype systems.

BOT is a Canadian-based manufacturer of sensor platforms, instrumentation, cable handling systems and launch/recovery systems.