Students Build Replicas of Unmanned Smuggling Boats to Help Coast Guard Find Them

A unique student project is helping the Coast Guard find small and hard to detect unmanned autonomous surface vessels (UASVs) that can be used to transport drugs into the U.S. Several UASVs have been recovered attempting to transit from around the maritime border with Mexico and into California. The boats are can carry about 90 lbs. of cargo, which could be illegal narcotics, explosives or other contraband

According to Coast Guard Sector San Diego officials, four of the UASVs were seized by federal law enforcement authorities in Southern California. The first was found in March 2018, another in December 2020, and two more in February and March of 2021, suggesting a high likelihood that there are many more that have gone undetected.

To learn how these boats might be best detected by sensors, the Coast Guard engaged the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), which collaborates with major universities and the venture community to develop solutions that drive national security innovation. With Coast Guard Sector San Diego as the project sponsor, NSIN capstone students at San Diego State University and Rice University in Houston, Texas, have been prototyping boats this semester.

To read the full article, click on Students Build Replicas of Unmanned Smuggling Boats.

The San Diego State University capstone project sponsored by NSIN, USCG, and Ocean Aero was a joint effort between the students of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, Team Kraken.

Source: Naval Engineers Journal, June 2022, Vol. 134, No. 2