Unmanned solar power ship

Eco Marine Power (EMP) has just announced plans to build more unmanned ships (USV) that operate on solar and rechargeable batteries. The project to design the Aquarius USV ship from 2011 and prototype will be launched in 2015. This ship is mainly used for data collection and monitoring.

Photo: Gizmag

EMP mainly focuses on developing low-emissions, environmentally-friendly equipment technologies. For example, ship EnerguDail launched in 2012 to exploit wind and solar energy to operate.

According to information from Gizmag, the USV Aquarius unmanned vessel has a three-body structure and photovoltaic panels spread across the surface. The lithium-ion battery blocks on the ship that both accumulate solar energy and can be recharged in case of necessity when the ship arrives at shore.

USV Aquarius is equipped with a sensor and computer system on the KEI 3240 platform for marine operations. The KEI 3240 has proven effective when serving bulk carriers of oil and ore. The sensor collects data both on and below the hull and handles both on board and automatically switches to the center on land. EMP said that Aquarius ships are suitable for many tasks such as monitoring pollution in the harbor, oceanographic investigation, patrol of the territorial sea . Aquarius's advanced features are invisible.

Aquarius's latest design is 5m in length, 8m in width, 1 meter inundation and about 10km / hour in speed. Currently Aquarius models are being tested and will be officially in operation from 2015.