Manta Ray UUV prototype completes in-water testing

[jfaulken]

I read that as "Manta Ray Unscrewed ..." and could not process the rest of the sentence.

Are manta rays attacking underwater vehicles now?

[zwieback]

Same, and now I'm fantasizing about the Netflix movie about manta rays unscrewing submarines

[alistairSH]

Same. I had to read your comment and title several times each before it clicked.

[aaroninsf]

I wonder if there is a name for garden-path sentences which emerge from mis-reading or typos; or, more interestingly perhaps, a name for a garden path candidate sentence—which is being optimistically projected during reading—forcing a misreading.

An interesting sort of confirmation bias, which it is easy to interpret as "pressure from more abstract model layers, informing the word recognition layer"...

[nielsbot]

Same. I was like "oh, so we have caterpillar drive in real life now?" (assuming screw = propeller)

[not_your_mentat]

I was thinking, "That's a rude way to describe manta rays having reproductive problems."

[0x457]

Glad I'm not the only one. Tooke me awhile to figure out.

[jpm_sd]

"Uncrewed" is the gender-neutral replacement for "Unmanned" in the robotics industry these days.

[manuelkehl]

Came here to write a comment along those same lines haha

[pineaux]

Same here

[erikig]

I was wondering how this UUV was powered and all that DARPA was willing to divulge was "Novel energy management techniques" and "undersea energy harvesting" [1].

Anyone have any insights?

[1] https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2024-05-01

[wolverine876]

This article covers it in more detail:

https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2024/05/giant-military...

“One thing that you notice in underwater vehicle design is you typically can have either a vehicle that lasts very long periods of time but can't really carry anything with it,” Woerner said on a podcast in 2022. “But if you want something that can carry a sensor or payload that is perhaps a larger size or mass, or has a larger energy draw, you tend to need a more traditional underwater vehicle, propeller driven in most cases. And those tend to not have anywhere near the endurance” that the military is looking for.

The ocean itself is full of potential sources of energy, such as currents, waves, and even subtle differences in water temperature or salt levels. But there’s no single perfect source of ocean energy for what DARPA is trying to accomplish.

“If you're interested in maybe closer to surface transport, wave energy is a really great resource, most of the wave energy is distributed near the surface. If you want to go into deeper water, right? That means that wave energy wouldn't be a great resource for that,” Sandia National Laboratory engineer Kelley Ruehl, an advisor on the program, said on the podcast. Similarly, current energy is a very localized resource, where we have tidal streets— those are unique locations in the world. So it's a very specific place that one would need to harvest tidal-energy resource.”

DARPA said PacMar Technologies, another contractor on the Manta Ray program, will spend the rest of this year testing a full-scale energy-harvesting system.

[2rsf]

The article mentions Seatrec that have more information: https://seatrec.com/technology/

[jauntywundrkind]

It's afaik the only glider type UUV (ed: being looked at by .mil. and production intended. and bigger than the research gliders by far.), afaik. Which is super interesting in itself, for endurance purposes. But perhaps this depth-changing mission profile is also key to its energy harvesting?

Just guessing here, but... it's sinking and rising. Well, perhaps it can take some mass of water onboard & run temperature differential energy harvesting off that. Take on warm surface water, slowly glide down 1000 ft (while going much further forward), then run a thermo-electric generator against the cold deep. Swap water & take 300 gallons of cold water, glide up 1000 ft (and forward), then run a thermoelectric generator against the warmer surface water or the air and/or solar. Repeat ad-infinitum. No idea what kind of power you could pull here but maybe, and it fits with the glider core concept.

And yeah, maybe if you do find an underwater vent you can supercharge? :)

Shout out to The War Zone (TWZ)'s coverage over time. The recent is decent but links their previous which looked about some. https://www.twz.com/news-features/manta-ray-underwater-drone...

TWZ talk about something mentioned elsewhere in the comments, yes, the data-linking challenges are partly tackled by having a "data bubble" that can float to the surface & uplink, who knows, maybe downlink relay too (unspecified). I definitely want to imagine the data bubble as a recursive system, as itself a smaller glider drone, but I'm 100% making that up, is my sci-fi impulse.

[causal]

I saw an Instagram Reel where someone claimed it could loiter on the seabed for extended periods powered by geothermal, but that sounds pretty fanciful to me.

[zardo]

https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/green-energy-powers-und...

[great_psy]

Does not ‘seem’ like the right shape for it, but could it use ocean currents ?

Similar idea to those weather balloons we were talking about last year ?

Is that even possible in the ocean ?

[briandw]

Sounds like they are using a [Buoyancy_engine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buoyancy_engine). The large wings are there to provide efficient forward motion when going up or down the water column.

[mattmaroon]

I feel like at some point, UUVs will be able to disable one part of the nuclear triad. A submarine with nuclear warheads is such a big ticket item that no country can reasonably have a lot of them. The US has 14, Russia 11. The entire world fleet is probably in the 30s.

A UUV that can find one and follow it indefinitely could be able to neutralize it and would be, presumably, much cheaper and easier to build. How hard could it be to eventually find and track every ballistic missile submarine with them?

I’m sure there are things I’m not understanding (how communications work, whether such a sub would be able to launch ICBMs even after being torpedoed, etc.) but it seems like this should have major strategic ramifications eventually.

[chatmasta]

I think what you’re missing is that a nuclear submarine wouldn’t let a UUV “follow it indefinitely.” Also, the submarine can have its own fleet of UUVs.

[credit_guy]

> A UUV that can find one and follow it indefinitely

Maybe it could find one but it can't follow it indefinitely if it is powered by a non-nuclear engine.

[heyflyguy]

There was a giant NOTAM in the pacific a few weeks ago. The title of the TFR was "MUTANT MEGALODON". A1396

I am curious if these two things were related.

[dylan604]

I am and am not at the same time surprised that humor is allowed in this mode of communications.

[quercusa]

Somebody on X caught it: https://twitter.com/SeanMoodyNews/status/1776676474407297224

[IncreasePosts]

Why would airmen need to know about a submersible?

[josefresco]

Another article on this: https://www.twz.com/news-features/manta-ray-underwater-drone...

Title: Manta Ray Underwater Drone Even More Enormous Than We Thought

[braymundo]

Major X-COM: Terror from the Deep vibes.

[causal]

Biggest issue for AUVs is how water attenuates radio, meaning this will have to surface to phone home. Guessing it will mostly be used for surveillance.

[ranger207]

Although the US (allegedly) no longer operates them, they (and Russia and China) have used extremely low frequency communications stations spread out over miles to communicate with submerged submarines. Tensions are much lower now so submarines can take the risk of surfacing for communications checkins but I'm sure that the ELF stations could be recomissioned fairly quickly if the need arose

[lupusreal]

Bouyant antenna cables are old tech, no need for the entire craft to surface.

[tiahura]

Given its size, it could hold a number of cheap small satellite communicators (ie garmin inreach) that could be deployed to slowly float to the surface and phone home as needed.

[pineaux]

This thing is going to be absolutely encrusted with barnacles af some point. How cool is that?

[Razengan]

Carrier Command (1988) can finally be a reality:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrier_Command

[bitlevel]

Saw the headline, immediately thought of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea with Seaview and the smaller Manta craft.

Fewer humans onboard though...

[Scene_Cast2]

I wonder why it needs wings underwater.

[holoduke]

I always wonder how these aircraft deal with sea life and debris. The first 0 to 20 meters of sea is the most dense populated zone in the world. How do you deal with collisions? I think therefor this will never be a success.

[dgfitz]

Have you ever tried to catch a sea-faring animal, with your hands, or a fishing rod, or a net?

[erksa]

> Manta Ray vehicle being towed in preparation for testing

Find it funny that they have to tow the prototype for some reason. Good to know DARPA also releases half-done prototypes.

Lighthearted fun this morning, and not to be taken serious.

[patrickhogan1]

This thing is giant I wonder what a whale will do to this.

[dvh]

Why it needs vertical control surface? Why manta ray don't need one?

[hcarvalhoalves]

Manta Ray… Unmanned Vehicles… DARPA…

Is this Metal Gear?

[lupusreal]

Heh, kinda looks like Arsenal Gear.

[neeleshs]

UUV (Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle) is a meh acronym. CrewL(l)ess Underwater Boat would've given them CLUB or CUB!