Patent ID: 6854410

Claim:
An unmanned system for investigating underwater regions, comprising: a plurality of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), each of said plurality of UUVs including propulsion and navigation means for traversing an underwater region, sonar means for generating sonar data associated with the underwater region, electro-optic imaging means for generating image data of selected areas of the underwater region, and underwater communication means for transmitting said sonar data and said image data through the water; an unmanned mothership equipped for navigation through the water, said unmanned mothership including, in modular form, a first module for controlling navigation of said unmanned mothership, a second module for receiving and storing said sonar data and said image data transmitted through the water from each of said plurality of UUVs, a third module for storing and dispensing fuel, a fourth module for propelling said unmanned mothership using said fuel from said third module and steering said unmanned mothership in accordance with instructions received from said first module, and a fifth module coupled to said second module for wirelessly transmitting said sonar data and said image data; docking means mounted partially onboard said unmanned mothership and partially onboard each of said plurality of UUVs for coupling each of said plurality of UUVs to said unmanned mothership, and for selectively releasing each of said plurality of UUVs from said unmanned mothership into the underwater region; and guidance means mounted partially onboard said unmanned mothership and partially onboard each of said plurality of UUVs for guiding each of said plurality of UUVs back to said docking means from positions in the water, wherein said unmanned mothership transports said plurality of UUVs to and from the vicinity of the underwater region, releases said plurality of UUVs into the water, and facilitates recovery of said plurality of UUVs from the water.