Electronic Thruster Controller for Underwater Vehicles and Robots

Informazioni relative al progetto

MATTERHORN

ID dell’accordo di sovvenzione: 827120

DOI

10.3030/827120

Progetto chiuso

Data della firma CE 23 Luglio 2018

Data di avvio 1 Agosto 2018

Data di completamento 31 Gennaio 2019

Finanziato da

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Costo totale

€ 71 429,00

Contributo UE

€ 50 000,00

Coordinato da

INGENIA-CAT S.L.
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MATTERHORN (Electronic Thruster Controller for Underwater Vehicles and Robots)

Periodo di rendicontazione: 2018-08-01 al 2019-01-31

Sintesi del contesto e degli obiettivi generali del progetto

The MATTERHORN project rationale is to offer a new disruptive technology for the underwater vehicles industry that compared to currently available solutions offers unsurpassed efficiency, cost and size reduction, while simplifies the vehicles construction thanks to its unique pressure tolerant capability.

MATTERHORN will facilitate and boost the development of new vehicles for underwater applications. That includes vehicles for deep sea exploration which should allow to find new deep-sea ecosystems, undiscovered geological features, and living organisms that have never been seen before. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of USA (NOOA) states that we have explored only 5% of the world's oceans !

New discoveries are always exciting to scientists, but information from deep sea exploration is also important to ALL people because:

-It may hold some crucial keys to understanding global climate and geology.
-The variety of life in deep sea ecosystems includes new species that can provide important drugs and useful products.
-Some deep-sea ecosystems include large numbers of organisms that can be used for human food.
-Information from deep sea exploration can help predict earthquakes and tsunamis.

Scientists predict that we will have some difficulty in making deep ocean vessels, in view of very high pressure, and also a certain difficulty in the vehicles autonomy. TITAN technology will help to overcome those limitations and contribute then to bring new benefits to society.

Lavoro eseguito dall’inizio del progetto fino alla fine del periodo coperto dalla relazione e principali risultati finora ottenuti

Phase I of the SME instrument has been carried out during an approximately 6 month period. The main goal was the assessment of the market feasibility and the strategy for commercialization of the technology, as well as to consolidate the work plan for the next phase. With that aim, INGENIA has accomplished several tasks: closed agreements with key partners worldwide; identified new industries and niche applications suitable for the technology; refined some technical aspects of the project implementation and started preparation the Phase II deployment.

As a final action on Phase I, we have successfully agreed to integrate our MATTERHORN technology into the HADAL EXPLORATION SYSTEM, the world’s first manned submersible commercially certified for repeatable exploration to the deepest point in the ocean. This submersible (with the MATTERHORN technology inside) will be used for the FIVE DEEPS expedition, which will be the world’s first manned expedition to the deepest point in each of the five oceans.

The results achieved in Phase I have been very satisfactory. The MATTERHORN project has now validated its work plan, has boosted its potential and has minimized the risks. We have generated a great expectation among potential customers and key partners that are waiting for the new technology.

Progressi oltre lo stato dell’arte e potenziale impatto previsto (incluso l’impatto socioeconomico e le implicazioni sociali più ampie del progetto fino ad ora)

The expected final results for MATTERHORN project is to release a new disruptive product for the Underwater Vehicles Industry. Compared to other solutions available in the market, MATTERHORN will offer an efficiency up to 3 times higher, a cost up to 50% lower and a footprint up to 3 times smaller. Furthermore, there are no companies offering the disruptive pressure tolerant capability of MATTERHORN.

The European companies in these industries need competitive solutions to maintain global leadership in their products and services. The MATTERHORN project will bring to all of them, a unique integration capability.

Once the MATTERHORN technology is commercialized, it is expected that other companies worldwide will try to follow similar design strategies, boosting the concept, and reinforcing the EU as a reference culture for innovation and leadership in this area.

MATTERHORN prototype