Searcher - Sea Remote Controlled Hydrographic Explorer and Recorder

In the realm of marine science, the assessment of potential environmental impacts stemming from marine hydrokinetic (MHK) installations is of paramount importance. These installations, while holding promise for renewable energy generation, may exert profound effects on marine ecosystems. Consequently, there is an initiative to develop cost-effective and accessible tools for monitoring the seafloor to quantify these impacts, which can be quantified in two avenues: physical seafloor disturbance demonstrated by substrate scouring around MHK foundations; and bio-indicators of environmental health such as sand dollars. Sand dollar beds as bio-indicators for assessing environmental impacts of MHK installations emerges as a promising avenue for ecological assessment attributable to their intricate relationship with wave energy dynamics. MHK installations represent a novel perturbation within coastal ecosystems, one that has the potential to disrupt the intricate balance of energy flows that marine organisms rely on. By harnessing wave energy, MHK installations effectively remove a portion of this energy from the system, thereby altering local wave patterns and intensities. Within this context, it is hypothesized there is a link between MHK installations and sand dollar density and distribution. Sand dollars, like many benthic organisms, are intricately linked to the flux of energy within marine environments. At the crux of their ecological function lies their reliance on wave energy for filter feeding-a process where suspended organic particles and planktonic organisms are captured and ingested from the water column. This dependence on wave energy renders sand dollars particularly sensitive to alterations in wave dynamics, including those induced by MHK installations. Consequently, shifts in sand dollar density and distribution may serve as indicators of broader ecological perturbations stemming from MHK activities. Understanding the dynamics of these beds in response to MHK installations holds significant implications for the management and conservation of marine resources. It is within this framework that the development and deployment of innovative monitoring technologies come to the forefront. Enter SEARCHER, a remote-controlled, two-person portable and deployable autonomous surface vehicle (USV) engineered to facilitate seafloor mapping and the assessment of biogenic habitats. Equipped with state-of-the-art side-scan sonar capabilities, SEARCHER represents a collaborative endeavor supported by the Hatfield Marine Science Center at Oregon State University. With Oregon State University, multiple missions have taken place at the PacWave Offshore Wave Energy Testing Sites since 2021 to map the seafloor to monitor for scouring, identify sediment profiles, and determine sand dollar distributions over time. This endeavor has been made feasible through funding from a Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) grant administered by the Department of Energy under the Office of Science, under grant number DE-SC0021776. The foundation of the SEARCHER USV originated from a USV called the SONAR Tactical AMY that was developed with a Navy SBIR under contract number N6833522G0002. The SONAR Tactical AMY is now currently a Program of Record with MARCORSYSCOM. The utilization of SEARCHER encompasses a multifaceted approach aimed at optimizing its functionality and efficacy. Through systematic data collection efforts conducted in Oregon and other locales, SEARCHER has been outfitted with an array of sonar and imagery payloads, each tailored to delineate the nuances of seafloor features and biogenic habitats. The culmination of these endeavors resides in the creation of a comprehensive database poised to underpin the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms within SEARCHER's operational framework. The evolution of SEARCHER's capabilities has been characterized by iterative refinement and validation exercises, using HELIX and APEX Humminbird side-scan sonar, as well as a more refined Ping DSP, an advanced point-cloud imagery sensor yielding high-resolution maps conducive to discerning sand dollar habitats and mooring chains with unprecedented fidelity. This same sensor is on an unmanned surface vehicle called SURVEYOR, an iteration of SEARCHER, that was developed with the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) out of New York. SURVEYOR is used by USACE to monitor and evaluate underwater infrastructure, similar to SEARCHER monitoring scour marks around MHKs. SEARCHER has also leveraged an enhanced side-scan sonar configuration where it adeptly defined bathymetric features. The wealth of data amassed during these expeditions served as fodder for ongoing endeavors centered on the development of automatic target recognition capabilities, spearheaded by the University of Delaware also under the Department of Energy SBIR. Central to these efforts is the cultivation of a robust repository of sand dollar imagery, poised to catalyze the refinement of AI algorithms tasked with identifying and mapping bioindicators with precision and efficacy. The foundation of this endeavor is data-driven innovation, where the accumulation of diverse datasets fuels the enhancement of SEARCHER's analytical abilities. The trajectory of SEARCHER's development underscores a commitment to continual improvement and innovation. Efforts aimed at augmenting image acquisition, analysis, and evaluation functionalities are set to be seamlessly integrated, enhancing SEARCHER's efficacy as a tool for not only environmental monitoring in the context of MHK installations, but also for high fidelity imaging and mapping underwater arenas for environmental monitoring, commercial activities, and militant operations.