Project: Hawboldt Delivers New Containerized AUV LARS system to the University of Gothenburg in 2021
January 2022
Gothenburg, Sweden – Hawboldt is excited to announce that we recently delivered a new containerized AUV Launch and Recovery System (LARS) to the University of Gothenburg for their very important Antarctic mission! The H-6200 AUV LARS will launch and recover Gothenburg’s Hugin AUV (named Ran by University of Gothenburg Oceanographer Anna Wåhlin), which provides the team with critical data for studying melting Antarctic ice shelves.
Of particular focus to the research effort is data collected beneath the Thwaites ice shelf, a dangerously unstable part of the West Antarctic ice sheet that is as large as Great Britain. The AUV is packed with 19 sensors that will measure ocean temperature, salinity, and velocity to reveal how much warm water is reaching Thwaites and how much meltwater is seeping out. The sonar on the AUV will provide scientists and geophysicists with detailed views of both the seafloor and underside of the ice shelf.
“We completed a sea test only an hour ago, and everything worked beautifully. We are very impressed with the system.”
Dr. Anna K. Wahlin, Professor of Physical Oceanography
Hawboldt’s line of AUV Launch and Recovery Systems are the world’s lightest, strongest, and smartest. Designed and built to DNV’s offshore lifting standard, the Hawboldt AUV LARS is designed for cold conditions, and higher sea states then any of our competitors (up to and including Sea State 5).
Additionally, our newly developed constant tension winch system provides even smoother recovery in rough seas, while our wired and wireless control options allow for excellent views of the vehicle during these critical operations. Hawboldt understands how vulnerable an AUV can be during launch and recovery, and our proven design is more than up to the challenge.