During the third and final period of the BRIDGES project, Work Package 4 successfully delivered the completed DXP and UXP glider prototypes, ready for at-sea testing in WP8 (Milestone 14).
A key highlight was successfully achieving an interchangeable, modular design for the DXP and UXP prototypes. The two prototypes are essentially the same vehicle, the only exceptions being the internal pressure hull (aluminium or titanium), external wet hull (additional syntactic foam for UXP) and the hydraulic ballast system (2,500m or 6,000m rated). Design requirements of WP2 were also met, reducing to a minimum the overall size and weight of the prototypes, resulting in safer handling and operations at-sea whilst still providing maximum sensor payload capabilities and mission endurance.
The successful delivery and validation of key subsystems such as the battery system, safety burn-wire dropweight, and new control software will also impact other underwater platforms produced by ALSEAMAR. The existing SeaExplorer glider will also benefit from these upgraded subsystems, improving capabilities and reliability of the conventional glider.
The DXP and UXP prototypes were successfully built, and the vehicle’s electronics chassis, communication and control subsystems and firmware were fully integrated and working with the pressure hull installed in the fairing. The subsystems were shown to operate within acceptable limits during SAT testing, and could be adjusted and tuned to facilitate the desired glider flight during the course of the first dives.
The DXP prototype was taken to sea and successfully completed a total of six missions to demonstrate the functioning of the vehicle i.e. diving, climbing and horizontal motion under full control of the glider firmware. The at-sea operations successfully demonstrated the capabilities of the BRIDGES glider prototypes. The prototypes and results of the demonstrations were presented to industry and public stakeholders during the BRIDGES Industry Workshop held in August 2019. Following the demonstrations, the industrialization phase of both prototypes will require re-calibration and tuning of control systems and validation through further at-sea testing.
Another significant result during this period is the of a new low-power, low-cost Smart Cable Interface that standardises a non-standardised sensor. The Smart Cable Interface builds on the extensive planning and development done in previous European projects (Nexos, CommonSense), implementing the requirements set out for standardising access to sensor data and metadata. This prototype cable has also recently been awarded funding by the Cypriot National Fund for commercialisation.
