72 



Period Activity 



June lQ/19 Continuation of study through to trials of ANGUS-003 under 



computer control. Intensification of Dept. of Industry study, 

 under headings of (i) acoustic command link; (ii) TV bandwidth 

 reduction; (iii) vehicle studies. Preliminary studies of 

 "piggy~t)ack" vehicles and a model tetherless vehicle. 



June 79/80 Continuation of ANGUS-003 program. Design of "piggy-back" 



and model tetherless vehicle. Design of total micro- computer 

 control and display system, and navigation system. Study of 

 alternative navigation and positioning systems. Manipulator 

 and robotics studies. 



June 80/81 Continuation through to initial hardware, and experimental 



systems carried aboard ANGUS-003. Deep-ocean vehicle studies 

 with industry. 



June 81/82 Commissioning trials of experimental vehicles, under wired 



control. Commissioning trials of full navigation and micro- 

 computer command and information system. Design of deep ocean 

 vehicle with industrial partner (s). 



June 82/83 Commissioning trials of full "piggy-back" and tetherless vehicle 

 systems. Completion of present study of manipulator and robotic 

 systems. Intensification of deep ocean vehicle study. 



2.4.4 Unmanned Free Swimming Submersible (UFSS) 



The UFSS program is a development of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, 

 Washington, D.C. Initially, the vehicle will be utilized for ocean science 

 data gathering. As its intelligence quotient is enhanced (with techniques 

 such as artificial intelligence and pattern recognition) in an evolutionary 

 manner, the vehicle will assume additional functions and missions. Examples 

 of such future work includes location of sunken submarines, mines, and other 

 man-made objects on the ocean floor. 



At present the UFSS program is in the construction stage. The vehicle is 

 designed for 457m (1,500 ft) depth and an operating range of 125nm (230km) 

 using lead acid batteries. Lithium thionyl chloride batteries are being 

 developed to provide a l,000nm (1,842km) operating range in the future. The 

 current development program calls for complete at sea tests in September 1979. 

 Similar to SPURV and EPAULARD, the UFSS vehicle will store its data aboard, 

 basic course and speed data will be pre-programmed. The hull is designed 

 for low drag and navigation updates will be accomplished by automatically 

 and periodically surfacing to obtain OMEGA "fixes". 



Ultimately, vehicle capabilities will include a 6,000m (20,000 ft) depth 

 capability, more precise navigation capability (combining inertial navigation 

 with OMEGA or doppler sonar) , on- board data processing capability, pattern 

 recognition and artificial intelligence and a mechanical manipulator. 



