Soft Capture™ Patent Granted

This week, Tridentis subsidiary Advanced Marine Vehicles received its first patent for the DEVICE AND METHOD FOR LAUNCHING AND RECOVERING AN UNMANNED UNDERWATER VEHICLE, Patent No US 11,485,461 B2. 

This device is a soft capture mechanism that can actively adapt to any shaped UUV during the capture process, which is a significant improvement over existing designs and methods that are designed for specific UUVs making it impossible to use the same device across a spectrum of varied vehicles and missions.  Additionally, this device makes the process of capturing a UUV easier than existing technology because a precise location over the UUV isn’t required for it to be effective.  This allows the user to operate this mechanism in a variety of sea states and headings further enhancing the operational profile of the mission.

Abstract: The device includes a gantry mounted on a recovery vehicle, a frame, and a shaft extending between the gantry and the frame and configured to vertically move the frame relative to the gantry. Attached to the frame are a plurality of rotatable arms movable between an opened position and a closed position. A first end of each arm is attached to the frame at a pivot. A flexible strap extends between each of the second ends of the arm and the frame. As the arms are moved to the closed position around the unmanned underwater vehicle, the straps will support the unmanned underwater vehicle.

We are excited to be delivering this capability to our clients!