Review of Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (AUV) Developments 
ODYSSEY [1,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29] 
During 1991 and 1992 a revolutionary new AUV was developed at the Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology (MIT) Sea Grant College Program AUV Laboratory. This vehicle, called 
Odyssey, was designed to provide marine scientists with economical access to the ocean. This 
first Odyssey AUV underwent field trials off New England in 1992 and was deployed from the 
National Science Foundation (NSF) icebreaker, the Nathaniel B. Palmer, off Antarctica in early 
1993. Work on Odyssey was supported by the Sea Grant College Program, MIT, the National 
Science Foundation, and the National Underwater Research Program. 
The results of these deployments led to the creation of a second-generation vehicle, Odyssey Il, 
work that was supported by the ONR. In spring 1994, Odyssey II was deployed from an ice- 
camp in the Beaufort Sea in support of a program to understand Arctic sea-ice mechanics. All 
operations were carried out in a 15' x 15' tent, enclosing a hydrohole through five feet of ice. 
While at the ice camp, Odyssey II performed a series of "out-and-back" missions, demonstrating 
its ability to home into the recovery net. These tests set the groundwork for providing a unique 
capability for responding to transient events in the ice. 
Odyssey is propelled by a motor running on batteries that can last six hours on a typical 
mission. Mounted in its nose for this pilot experiment is Crittercam, a computer-controlled video 
camera. Odyssey’s antenna communicates with a radio beacon for locating the robot sub; the 
strobe has the same function. The acoustic transponder enables operators on Tanekaha to 
track Odyssey (figures 15 and 16). See table 7 for specifications. 
” A Nee ee os 
RADIO FREGUENCY BEACON LIFT ACOUSTIC RUDDER 
POINT TRANSPONDER 
LOCATING STROBE | PROPELLER 
CRITTERCAM 
Di will RUDDER 
DBSTACLE 
AVOIDSNCE SONAR 
Figure 15. Odyssey 
Under Sea Grant support, Odyssey II was operated from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA) ship Discoverer as part of the 1994 and 1995 VENTS programs (in a 
collaboration with the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory). A combination of 
40 
