THIS MONTH:
13 Years
Under
The Sea
SSC TRANSDEC, SITUATED ON PICTURESQUE POINT LOMA.
We have a special place in our hearts for underwater obots. In the August and September ‘08 issues of
In 2010, the Association for
Unmanned Vehicle Systems
International (AUVSI) and the
Office for Naval Research (ONR)
held their 13th annual International
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
(AUV) Competition (now
rebranded as the RoboSub
Competition). After five years, we
thought another visit was
appropriate, especially given that
AUVs and their cousins (ROVs)
seem to be getting more press
about their versatile problem-solving ability (check out the July
‘ 10 issue for a good example!).
The competition was held from
July 13th-18th at the SPAWAR
Systems Center San Diego
Transducer Evaluation (TRANSDEC)
facility in California.
Sign of the Sea Bot
Upon arriving in sunny San Diego, we got a chance to
talk with Daryl Davidson, the Executive Director of the
AUVSI Foundation. AUVSI and the AUVSI Foundation are
separate organizations that are fundamentally linked. AUVSI
is a 501(c)( 6) trade organization chiefly concerned with
business to business activities that advance the technology
of unmanned systems. The AUVSI Foundation is a 501(c)( 3)
organization dedicated to fundraising and investing in
education. While AUVSI focuses on the here and now, the
AUVS HAVE TO NEGOTIATE HEDGES, COLLECT LIFE VESTS, AND CHOOSE THEIR
WEAPONS WISELY IF THEY WANT TO SURVIVE!
SERVO 09.2010 67
