The investigation and the development of a swarm-enabled distributed sensing (SDS) array using compact UUVs

The Swarm-enabled Distributed Sensing (SDS) project was funded to provide a feasibility study to analyze using a swarm as a distributed sensor array to enhance large data collection. This study will detail the steps necessary to address the problem of insufficient undersea sensor coverage in large areas. In addition, this study aims to characterize and understand the fundamental research problem of swarm-based UUV sensor networks (surfaced and underwater) and their constraints to implementation on a physical system. Finally, the results will provide engineering specifications for element positioning and sensor error, enabling low-cost, low-logistic array deployments more flexibly employable than arrays with sizeable installation logistics and budget. Therefore, the outcomes of this study have determined some of the performance parameters that will be required to implement the distributed sensing system that will be constructed with a minimum number of elements to validate the predictions of this work.