Together with fellow PhD researchers Ambj\u00f8rn Waldum, Gabriele Kasparavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117, and eight master\u2019s students, the project group has developed both the underwater vehicle and the necessary infrastructure to support long-term autonomous operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The AUV will be able to manoeuvre independently over distances of 100\u2013500 metres and return to a docking station placed on the seabed,” says G\u00fcnzel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Navigation is achieved using a USBL transducer (Ultra-Short Baseline), which sends signals to a modem on the AUV. The modem responds with a ping and receives its position in return \u2013 enabling precise real-time navigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the AUV approaches the docking station, it can either position itself in front of an optical modem for communication \u2013 allowing mission data to be downloaded and new instructions uploaded \u2013 or dock directly for recharging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The station supports inductive charging and high-speed data transfer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “That allows us to update mission data, retrieve measurements, and send new commands \u2013 all without the AUV needing to surface,” G\u00fcnzel explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In practice, this means the underwater drone can be permanently stationed beneath the surface, ready for its next mission \u2013 without human intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The field test was carried out in collaboration with NTNU\u2019s larger ROV, Minerva, and marks a technological breakthrough for compact underwater vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n The project is part of NTNU\u2019s SAFEGUARD initiative and builds on many years of research and development at NTNU. NTNU VISTA-CAROS, a centre for autonomous underwater operations supported by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and Equinor, has played a key role in providing infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I\u2019m incredibly grateful to everyone who has contributed \u2013 through master\u2019s theses, technical support, and supervision. And not least to Professor Martin Ludvigsen, who laid much of the groundwork we are now building on,” says G\u00fcnzel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blueye Robotics<\/strong> was founded in 2015 as a spin-off from NTNU and has grown into a leading provider of user-friendly underwater drones. Blueye\u2019s drones are used globally for research, inspection, and education.<\/p>\n With a mission to make the ocean more accessible, Blueye combines solid engineering with intuitive design. The autonomy project builds on the platform\u2019s flexibility and demonstrates how the technology can evolve into more advanced and independent operations.<\/p>\n Blueye Robotics is a member of the Ocean Autonomy Cluster and NORDSEC Defence and Security Cluster.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t NTNU\u2019s marine robotics research environment is taking the next step to enable the Blueye underwater drone to carry out fully autonomous missions underwater.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":8034,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[91,3],"tags":[269,555,853,1120],"theme":[751,878,944],"class_list":["post-8053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-innovation","category-research","tag-department-of-marine-technology","tag-research","tag-trondheim-en","tag-underwater-vehicle","theme-engineering","theme-research-communication","theme-science"],"acf":{"exclude_from_frontpage":false,"frontpage_image":"","frontpage_title":"","force_single_display":false,"authors":[1342],"external_authors":[{"image":"","name":"Lars Bugge Aarset","position_title":"","url":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/person\/lars-bugge-aarset\/"}],"contact_persons":"","external_contact_persons":[{"name":"Leonard Florian Tom G\u00fcnzel","url":"https:\/\/www.ntnu.edu\/employees\/leonard.gunzel","position":"PhD Candidate, NTNU Department of Marine Technology"}],"lang_malform":""},"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Leonard-Gunzel-1-1024x576.jpeg\")
A technological breakthrough<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Blueye-drone-2.jpeg\")
About Blueye Robotics<\/h2>\n\n\t\t