An underwater vehicle that has been developed at Florida Atlantic University by Dr. Ken Holappa, Assistant Professor in the Department of Ocean Engineering, will study the effects of global warming on ocean turbulence. Powered by a small rugged computer from EMJ Embedded Systems and JUMPtec (now known as Kontron), the AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) will measure ambient turbulence off the Florida coast.

Holappa designed his small programmable research vessel, code named MADDOG (for Mobile Autonomous Direct Data Oceanographic Gatherer), to be easily deployed with a minimum of personnel. Features include a robust construction that can withstand 500 psi pressures, with few mechanical parts; a user-friendly interface; low operating costs; and a quiet operation in terms of vibration.

Measuring but six feet in length, with an inside diameter of 10 cm and a weight of 20 kg, MADDOG maneuvers through the ocean controlled by a 586 133MHz PC/104 form factor board from JUMPtec, which Holappa purchased from EMJ Embedded Systems.

The feature-rich JUMPtec controller activates MADDOG’s stern planes and the rudders, controls the length of its overall mission, and tells the underwater vehicle when to dive and when to make a turn. It has also been tested beyond navigational programming. During development, the small CPU was accidentally dropped into the ocean. After rinsing it clear of salt water and drying the board, the JUMPtec board booted with no problem.

When fully deployed with the sensor packages that Holappa is now developing, MADDOG will measure the kinetic energy of the oceans down to the most minute particle, in order to create a mathematical model of the earth’s water masses. MADDOG will itself be a model for the special requirements of ocean turbulence measurements, which are easily contaminated by vibration and EMR. These studies will ultimately benefit the analyses of phenomena such as global warming on energy exchange in the oceans.

Holappa found the single board computer for his controller while researching PC/104 boards on the Web. He contacted EMJ Embedded Systems, knowing he wanted an off the shelf product, and ultimately his choice was a matter features, price, and availability.

Low power consumption, low EMR, and on-board Flash were all selling features in Holappa’s eyes. And Holappa liked what he heard when he talked to EMJ. "When I am making a technology purchase, I always ask the company how big they are, how long they’ve been around, and what level of support they can offer me," he states. "I liked what I heard from EMJ. They have not disappointed me."

MADDOG was successfully built for a cost of less than $5000, and underwater measurements have begun including ship/submarine wake decay measurements and severe storm measurements. The technical advances made from this project will be used to develop an even smaller AUV for further studies.

ABOUT KONTRON TECHNOLOGY
Kontron is a leading global embedded computer technology company. Kontron supplies a diversified customer base of OEMs, system integrators and application providers in the communications, automation, transportation, medical, military, aerospace, and test and measurement markets. The company helps its customers to considerably reduce their time-to-market and to gain a competitive advantage with products including high-performance open computer platforms and systems, single-board computers, man-machine interfaces and mobile computers. Kontron employs over 1100 people worldwide and has manufacturing facilities in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. The company is listed on the German TecDAX 30 stock exchange under the symbol "KBC".

For additional information on Kontron, please visit our vendor page or www.kontron.com.

ABOUT EMJ Embedded Systems
EMJ Embedded Systems, a division of EMJ America Inc., distributes a full line of single board computers, CompactPCI solutions, Flash solutions, PC Card disk drives, PC Card readers, PC/104 add-on cards, PC/104 peripherals, displays, software and enclosures. EMJ is a publicly traded company with revenues of $150 million and can be found on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol EMJ.