Project Grant NA24OARX021G0026

PURPOSE: ARMADA HAS A BOLD PLAN TO BECOME THE SPACEX OF THE SEA WITH A SCALABLE SOLUTION THAT REDUCES THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF IN SITU OCEAN MONITORING WHILE ELIMINATING SINGLE-USE SENSOR WASTE. TODAYS TOOLS ARE LARGELY BASED AROUND CREWED RESEARCH VESSELS THAT SERVICE MOORINGS, AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLES (AUVS), AND EXPENDABLE SENSING PACKAGES. THESE TOOLS SCALE POORLY, CONTINUE OUR RELIANCE ON FOSSIL FUELS, AND CONTRIBUTE TO MARINE WASTE, ALL OF WHICH ARE UNSUSTAINABLE. WE ADDRESS SCALABILITY IN THREE KEY WAYS: 1. COMBINE INNOVATIVE PROPULSION AND BALLAST TECHNOLOGIES TO CREATE A NEW CLASS OF UNCREWED UNDERWATER SENSING PLATFORM WITH BOTH MOBILITY AND PERSISTENCE THAT IS FUNDAMENTALLY SIMPLER TO PRODUCE AND ACHIEVE ECONOMIES OF SCALE. 2. AN OPERATIONS STRATEGY THAT LEVERAGES THE PLATFORMS UNIQUE CAPABILITIES TO SELECTIVELY RIDE OCEAN CURRENTS, ENABLING A CONSTELLATION OF PLATFORMS TO ACHIEVE DYNAMIC PERSISTENCE THROUGH FULL LIFE CYCLES OF DEPLOYMENTS AND RECOVERIES FROM SHORE LOCATIONS. 3. COLOCATE MANUFACTURING AND LAUNCH FACILITIES UPSTREAM OF MAJOR CURRENTS AND POSITION RECOVERY INFRASTRUCTURE IN REGIONS THAT MINIMIZE PLATFORM ENERGY CONSUMPTION TO REACH. ARMADA WILL USE THIS PHASE I SBIR TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF OUR OPERATIONS STRATEGY THROUGH OCEAN CURRENT AND ENERGY BUDGET MODELING TO INFORM THE DESIGN OF A PROTOTYPE PLATFORM IN PHASE II. CLIMATE CHANGE IS RAPIDLY DRIVING INCREASED FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY OF EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS AND IS CHANGING REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS WITH A WIDE ARRAY OF IMPACTS RANGING FROM INSURABILITY OF PROPERTIES TO VIABILITY OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION TO REGIONAL STABILITY. TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THESE PROCESSES AND PREDICT FUTURE OUTCOMES WE MUST UNDERSTAND THE DRIVERS OF LONG-TERM WEATHER PATTERNS AND CLIMATIC SHIFTS. IMPROVED DATA PRODUCTS WILL ENABLE FORECASTING AND IMPROVED CERTAINTY OF PREDICTIONS THAT WILL HAVE VAST ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS. WHILE THE AUV MARKET IS PROJECTED TO GROW FROM $1B IN 2023 TO $9B IN 2030 AT AN OUTSTANDING CAGR OF NEARLY 25%, THE GLOBAL PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY MARKET IS EXPECTED TO GROW FROM $433.6 BILLION IN 2022 TO $707.2 BILLION BY 2027. LEVERAGING OCEAN DATA TO MAKE HIGH-ACCURACY LONG TERM PREDICTIONS OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC VIABILITY AND SECURITY IS LIKELY TO REPRESENT THE LARGEST ADDRESSABLE MARKET THAT WILL BE ENABLED BY THIS TECHNOLOGY.