Review of Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (AUV) Developments 
tethered and free-swimming dives demonstrated navigation and tracking of the AUV over the 
Juan de Fuca Ridge, and fully-autonomous, untethered operation, as deep as 1400 meters. 
In 1995, four new vehicles were built under ONR sponsorship. As some elements of the design 
were improved, these vehicles are denoted Odyssey IIb. The original Odyssey I] was upgraded 
to be the same as the Odyssey Ilb vehicles. Some of the vehicles have been loaned to 
collaborators at Woods Hole, the Navy NRaD center in San Diego, and to industry (Electronic 
Design Consultants in Chapel Hill, North Carolina). These vehicles have proved to be relatively 
simple to use and robust when operated by non-MIT personnel. For example, in June 1996 two 
of the Odyssey IIb AUVs were used in a month-long experiment that studied the dynamics of 
frontal mixing in the Haro Strait, off Vancouver Island. The vehicles carried water quality 
sensors, a side-scan sonar, and a water-current profiler. Over a 21-day period, the two vehicles 
performed 67 dives with no failures of the base vehicles and only one day lost to weather. The 
430-pound (195-kilogram) robot sub is hoisted in and out of water via its lift point. 
Figure 16. Odyssey Launch/Recovery 
Table 7. Odyssey Specifications 
Displacement 165 kg 
Thruster 1 electric (brushless), 20 lbs max. thrust 
Depth rating 6000 m 
Power Silver-Zinc Cells, 3.2 kW-hr 
Endurance/Range 12 hours @ 5 km/hr 
Onboard Computer 68040 based 
Statu 5 Operational AUVs 
Reliability Over 400 dives with no vehicle losses 
Payloads CTD, ADCP, Camera, Side-scan Sonar 
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