The iRobot Seaglider is a deep-diving Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) designed for missions lasting many months and covering thousands of miles. In military applications the Seaglider is more commonly referred to as an Underwater Unmanned Vehicle (UUV).
Seaglider was initially developed by the University of Washington. iRobot purchased Seaglider in June 2008 to adapt the robot for military use.[1][2][3][4]
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Seaglider measures temperature, salinity and other quantities in the ocean, sending back data using global satellite telemetry. Seaglider UUVs are in use worldwide, collecting oceanic physical properties and performing various other missions for oceanographers, including the U.S. Navy, government agencies and research organizations.
Seaglider "flies" through the water with extremely modest energy requirements using changes in buoyancy for thrust coupled with a stable low-drag hydrodynamic shape. Designed to operate at depths up to 1,000 meters the hull compresses as it sinks to match the pressure from the seawater.
In May 2010 Seaglider was deployed in the Gulf of Mexico to help monitor the oil spill, gather oceanic data and find out what is going on beneath the surface of the water.
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