Comms and Control

In 2025, ecoSUB Robotics and Sonardyne delivered a breakthrough in autonomous underwater operations by demonstrating seabed mounted aided navigation and autonomous AUV launch — a capability that pushes the boundaries of what subsea systems can achieve.

The companies developed seabed nodes that combine Sonardyne’s Compatt 6 acoustic communications with a passive ultra-short baseline (USBL) system to create fully autonomous subsea launch points capable of lying dormant for extended periods. Each node houses an ecoSUB AUV within a dedicated launch tube, remaining in hibernation until activated acoustically or by a defined trigger.

Once awakened, the ecoSUB AUV brings the node online, releases itself and flies from the launch tube. The AUV begins its mission without GNSS, instead receiving precise acoustic position updates from the node at ranges up to 600 meters. With a network of four nodes, this architecture scales to wide area coverage and coordinated multi-AUV response.

In June 2026, during the UK Smart Sound Connect Subsurface demonstration, ecoSUB and Sonardyne showed this concept in a real operational environment. “The demo showed how seabed mounted aided navigation can be used but also how ecoSUB platforms can exploit this infrastructure, showing the significant potential for this type of autonomous subsea operation,” said