The second phase began in May 1997, when the commercial part of Bluefin started to spin-up. In November 1999, slightly ahead of schedule, we opened the Bluefin offices in Cambridge with enough orders to guarantee both work and positive cash flow for the next two years. Looking back over the ten years since we started the MIT AUV lab we are struck by how far this industry has progressed since then. When it comes to AUVs task, power and task complexity are the two most important limitations. Smaller AUVs are much harder to design than larger systems.
Power is a limitation because AUVs are battery operated systems.
AI is key in all of this, and it is no coincidence that the MIT AUV lab always had a strong links with MIT s AI lab. Today AUVs are ideally suited to do straightforward survey work. As AI improves, more complex tasks such as inspection and monitoring construction, will become possible. As battery technology improves, AUVs will be able to take on more power intensive surveys and perform direct robotic tasks. For the offshore survey industry the key is to get the cost of surveys low enough that the customer can afford to get a complete, detailed map of the area of interest.