Sailors from Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) Unmanned Vehicle (UMV) Reserve Program are encouraging the next generation of scientists and engineers through their outreach efforts at events such as the Maritime RobotX Challenge, which was held in the Republic of Singapore from Oct. 24-26, 2014.
“The Office of Naval Research personally requested our participation,” said Cmdr. Eric Pihl, the San Diego-based unit’s commanding officer. “We’ve had experience at Office of Naval Research-sponsored robotics events in the past and I believe our Sailors’ knowledge, skill and understanding are critical support elements to these types of events. We wanted to not only support the teams, but also identify opportunities within the Department of Defense where their skills could be utilized.”
SPAWAR reservists were responsible for safety throughout the competition, performing security checks, maintaining the obstacle course, and coordinating the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) launch and recovery.
The competition hosted 15 teams from universities surrounding the Pacific, including Australia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the U.S. Three teams from each nation participated in the event, which focused on unmanned surface vehicles (USVs).
ONR provided a standard USV to each team, with each team being responsible to determine and implement the necessary propulsion units, sensor suites and control systems to complete the mission tasks. Tasks mirrored real-world scenarios and highlighted critical areas that continue to challenge experts.
“Unmanned systems will continue to grow and become a large part of military operations and civilian applications in the future,” Pihl said. “The next generation has embraced unmanned systems; it’s possible that these student-teams may have identified possible solutions to challenges currently being faced in the fleet.”
The focus on USVs comes at a time when the Navy recently announced its plans to build a 40-foot long unmanned USV, designed to launch from a littoral combat ship and detonate and destroy underwater mines. This new technology would allow for ships and Sailors to remain at a safe distance while the USV engages the threat.
SPAWAR’s UMV program is home to 31 reservists, who support unmanned systems in the areas of research and development, testing and evaluation and operations. The UMV program is just one of more than a dozen efforts that support SPAWAR in command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
“Supporting STEM events gives us a great deal of satisfaction,” said Pihl. “We are able to see the next generation of scientists, engineers and mathematicians.”
In addition to ONR, sponsors for this event included Northrop Grumman, LeddarTech, ST Engineering, Sembcorp Marine, Keppel Offshore & Marine, Math Works, Teledyne Marine Systems, Insitu Inc., and Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation.
For more information about Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, please visit: http://www.public.navy.mil/spawar/Pacific/Pages/default.aspx.