Autonomy testbed for heterogenous UXV teams

The Department of the Navy Secretary of the Navy Office of Naval Research awarded a $999,296 Project Grant to the University of California San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography to develop an autonomy testbed for heterogeneous unmanned vehicle systems (UVX) teams. The grant is funded through the Basic and Applied Scientific Research program (CFDA 12.300), which supports research with potential to improve naval operations and train future researchers.

Under the one-year award beginning October 1, 2022, Scripps Institution of Oceanography will create a test environment to evaluate multi-vehicle unmanned systems composed of different assets like surface and underwater vehicles. The autonomy testbed will allow the Office of Naval Research to advance autonomous coordination capabilities between heterogeneous UVX to potentially enhance naval missions. As the prime recipient, Scripps will oversee developing the testbed platform while drawing upon their expertise in oceanographic and maritime autonomous technologies.