Bio-inspired Underwater Teams

STTR · Phase: BOTH · Topic OSW26TZ06-NV008 · Solicitation 26.TZ

Bio-inspired underwater vehicles have nearly matched the speeds and efficiencies of real fish. Now, these platforms are on the cusp of operating as multiagent teams, which would further improve efficiency and unlock novel mission utility. Recent work has shown how the hydrodynamic benefits of schooling can be translated into groups of underwater vehicles. In this STTR, the use of physical models and 3D simulations of sufficient fidelity are expected to enable exploration and understanding of the effects of controlled variation of key parameters such as geometric positioning with respect to other wakes and body deformation in developing protype underwater teams. Recent progress in this area, combined with the wide availability of 3D physical and computational methods, presents a significant, new opportunity for the application of fundamental knowledge to exploit the hydrodynamic benefits that result from schooling fish. This STTR Topic will pursue the design and demonstration of innovative, bio-inspired UUV teams with capabilities well beyond the state of the art for range, endurance, speed and quietness. The overall design objective and targeted capabilities apply to a group of untethered UUVs, each between 1-5 meters in length, and capable of operating in salt water to depths of 50 ft, to support Phase II and Phase III testing. Conventional designs and propulsors (such as propellers and jets) are not in scope for this topic. The design will be evaluated according to measurable performance criteria: – Speed: minimum 4 meters/sec, with an objective of 6 meters/sec or higher; Cost of Transport (COT): proposed project should optimize the COT and demonstrate clear improvement over the state-of-the-art, for the chosen vehicle length and speed; Quietness: underwater acoustic energy generated by the vehicles, should be minimized by design; Power: the design shall not rely on energy harvesting from the environment but can incorporate methods of energy recovery from mechanical motion itself. It shall utilize state-of-the-art energy storage (R&D into energy storage is outside the scope of this topic); Power Transmission: the design shall use state-of-the-art means of transferring power to the propulsor. Successful proposals will explain how the proposed means of power transmission will contribute to meeting the performance objectives; Sensing and control: approaches to sensing and dynamic control that optimize hydrodynamic interactions and flow physics are in-scope for this Topic. The successful proposal will explain how these will contribute to meeting the performance objectives; Path Planning: use off-the-shelf components to provide sufficient capability for the platforms to perform the demonstrations during Phase II and Phase III, including straight line tracks and simple maneuvers sufficient to demonstrate speed, range, endurance and acoustics. R&D into path planning is outside the scope of this topic; Vehicle cost: estimated cost of scaled manufacturing is a factor in the proposal evaluations and can be used to guide material and design selection. The successful proposal will identify supply chain risks and a mitigation plan.

SBIR/STTR 은 미국 중소기업만 지원할 수 있습니다(Small Business Act 법정 요건). • 계열사를 포함해 상시 종업원 500명 이하 • 미국 시민 또는 영주권자 1인 이상이 50%를 초과해 직접 소유·지배 • 미국 내 사업장을 두고 주로 미국 내에서 사업을 영위할 것 • 수행책임자(PI)의 주된 근무처가 신청 기업일 것 출처: https://www.sbir.gov/faq/eligibility-requirements

Primary country

🇺🇸 United States

Also eligible

None

Foreign companies

No

Local entity

Required

Location condition

미국 내 사업장을 두고 미국 시민·영주권자가 50%를 초과해 소유한 중소기업만 신청할 수 있습니다(법정 요건).

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Official URL

https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/topics-app/

Application URL

https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/topics-app/

Last fetched

2026.10.14

Human review

Not reviewed — check the official announcement

First seen

2026.10.14

Data status

Auto-collected, not reviewed

AI enrichment

Needs verification