DEMO: SHIELD

DEMO: SHIELD

Acoustic detection of vessels or submarines by small low-cost devices arranged in an internet of underwater things (IoUT) offers distributed sensing with easy deployment from moorings, vessels or air. A key technology for IoUT is energy harvesting to extend operation time. We identify high potential in the acoustic ambient noise, reaching 1W of possible renewable energy. The SHIELD, NATO Science for Peace and Security, project designs novel swarm of energy efficient IoUT floaters to detect vessels or submarines while extracting energy from transients of ambient noise by use of a dense array of polymer-based hydrophones, to revolutionize underwater sensing by doubling operation time for months without charging.

During BtS, SHIELD will conduct three demonstrations for the developed technologies:

1. Detection of vessel by passive acoustic monitoring: a vessel will drive towards a deployed hydrophone.

2. Detection of scuba divers driving an underwater scooter by passive acoustic monitoring: the divers will perform manuvering towards and away a deployed hydrophone.

3. Event driven drifter: a submerged drifter deployed near the pier that will ascend upon event detection (vessel approaching).

Visitors will be able to observe how the detection evolve in real time; visualized on a screen on dock.