A better buoy

Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Lockheed Martin have entered into an exclusive license agreement to develop and produce a rapidly deployable and autonomous mooring buoy system for military and scientific uses.

The new autonomous mooring buoy system, which incorporates an anchor, a combination anchor/air brake and a flotation buoy, will allow sensors mounted on a floating buoy to be more successfully deployed on a station after being launched from aircraft, submarines or ships. The buoy’s missions could include submarine detection and location; meteorological and oceanographic measurements; autonomous underwater vehicle communication; and underwater navigation and positioning.

The system was designed by researchers from FAU and the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), supported by grants from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Ocean Engineering Program, managed by Dr Tom Swean, ONR program manager for Ocean Engineering & Marine Systems. FAU and NAVSEA have filed a joint patent application. FAU and Lockheed Martin will work closely with key US Navy offices and government laboratories to further develop the system and to identify other potential applications.