Maridan's Martin AUV

• Published in: Ocean news & technology Vol. 5; no. 6; pp. 38 - 39
• Main Author: Morr, B
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Palm City Technology Systems Corporation 01.12.1999
• Subjects: Marine
• ISSN: 1082-6106

Martin's "flat fish" form makes an extremely inherently-stable platform for carrying a variety of instrument loads. Maridan A/S near Copenhagen, Denmark developed its direct predecessor, Marius, in the early 1990s and found the shape efficient and ideal for carrying a variety of differing payloads. The modular design houses instrumentation and power in several separate pressure vessels and the body has distinct forward, center and aft sections that can be quickly separated and reassembled for ease of transport in a standard 747. Overall length is 4.5 m (15 ft), width 1.1 m (3 ft 7 ins) and depth 0.6 m (1 ft 11 ins): weight is 800 kg (1800 lbs). Silver-Zinc batteries give an operational endurance of 24 hours and range of 80 nm at a speed of 3.5 kts. At this speed the streamlined square-section body does not carry any significant drag penalty but offers maximum load carrying ability plus stability better than +/- 0.5 deg for roll, pitch and heading.