Marine Systems
Echo Ranger
Echo Ranger is a commercial project that partners Boeing with Fugro N.V. and Oceaneering International, Inc. in an alliance committed to providing deepwater unmanned autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) services around the world. The program leverages a history of AIS capabilities in maritime programs including the Long-Term Mine Reconnaissance System (LMRS), a fully autonomous and untethered vehicle that is capable of mine hunting and location. This vehicle can be launched and recovered by a host submarine and represents a remarkable capability in that regard, since a submarine-based system, like LMRS, allows mines to be located without detection.
Currently in service in the Gulf of Mexico, Echo Ranger operates at water depths of up to 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) and is a more cost-effective alternative for gas, oil and telecommunications companies seeking to collect deepwater swath bathymetry, survey natural and man-made seafloor features, and profile sub-bottom marine sediments. In contrast to a traditional towed survey system that requires the use of a long umbilical cable to transmit information back to a tow vessel, Echo Ranger internally stores data from the various survey sensors for download upon vehicle recovery. In addition, for real-time data observation and quality control, the Echo Ranger can also transmit survey data back to the mother ship through the water column by use of an on-board acoustic modem. A similar modem arrangement is used to send operating instructions to the vehicle and to receive critical feedback on system performance.