Ocean Innovations to Present with Global Ocean Design at OCEANS 2026

Abstract
Ocean Landers are the oldest class of unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs), but are often an overlooked platform for many seagoing projects. 
 
Freed from winch and wire, ocean landers can spend months, even years, at any depth. The non-specialized surface vessel, perhaps a charter fishing boat, is likewise free from the ocean lander. It is free to move off to pursue other mission objectives. Multiple ocean landers can survey wide areas from a small vessel.
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This full-day course will provide the attendee with a practical understanding of free vehicle and ocean lander design, application, strengths, limitations, and seaborne operations.
 
Using video presentations, printed materials, and hands-on demonstrations, attendees will be actively involved in the process of learning the functional elements of ocean landers.  Attendees will develop the skill set and confidence necessary to pull the quick release and let the lander sink.Target Audience
University and government oceanographic research and engineering groups, environmental monitoring, undergraduate educators, offshore oil and fisheries support, and exploration advocates.Course Objectives
Attendees will gain an understanding of:

• Ocean lander terminology
• Cruise planning based on mission objectives
• Design basics: building a simple lander, adding additional features
• Housings: cylinders, spheres, seals, glass, metal, plastic
• Advanced design concepts: adding extra capability
• Buoyancy, counterweights, and anchor design
• Payloads: sensors, samplers, traps, cameras, lights
• Release systems
• Recovery beacons
• Batteries: choosing the right chemistry for the job
• Cables and connectors
• Testing: in-basin, at sea, tethered, and untethered
• At-sea operations: pre-launch prep, launch, location, and recovery techniques
• Ahips- and ports-of-opportunity
• Navigation and seamanship
• Shipping and handling
• Starting and maintaining a lander lab
• Tips from the Field

 
Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) sources of components will be discussed, permitting end-users the opportunity to intelligently consider the Make-Buy decision, based on factors of time, cost, and quality.
 
Attendees will receive detailed course notes and generous supplemental materials on a thumb drive to guide their own experimentation, development, deployment, and recovery of ocean landers.
 
Timeline of Tutorial
0800-0815: Welcome, General Business, Overview of the Day
 
0815-0915: Vehicle Design Fundamentals: Stability, Drag, Buoyancy, Frames, Release systems, Anchors, Payloads, Mission profile
 
0915-1000: Housings: Cylinders, Spheres, materials, unique advantages, accessories, deck purge systems, cable, and connectors
 
1000-1015 BREAK
 
1015-1045: Release design, burn wires, pelican hooks, time releases, GTRs, acoustic releases
 
1045-1130: Surface Recovery Beacons: strobes, RDF, GPS/Iridium, GPS/radio
 
1130-1200: Battery selection and testing: chemistries, haz mat, thermal considerations, pressure compensation, qualification testing (CBA III)
 
1200-1300 LUNCH
 
1300-1330: Sensors and samplers
 
1315-1345: Cameras, multiple imagers, lights, controllers, digital storage
 
1345-1430: Launch and Recovery, Navigation and Seamanship
 
1430-1500: Testing programs: pressure, bench, in-basin, tethered, untethered
 
1500-1515 BREAK
 
1515-1545: Cruise Planning, Ships of opportunity, ports-of-opportunity
 
1545-1600: Shipping and Handling considerations
 
1600-1615: Tips from the Field
 
1615-1645: Open Source, Special Interest Groups, setting up a lander lab
 
1645-1700: Wrap up, Reference thumb drive, Speaker evaluations

Instructor Bios:
Kevin Hardy, President, Global Ocean Design (San Diego, CA), now in its 15th year, specializing in undersea autonomous vehicle components. Since 2022, Hardy has written the column, “Lander Lab” for the Marine Technology Reporter magazine (NY, NY). Hardy was the “Lander Commander” of James Cameron’s DeepSea Challenge Expedition in 2011/2012, building two ocean landers that traveled to the bottom of the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. Previously, Hardy retired as a Senior Development Engineer from Scripps Institution of Oceanography/UCSD with a career that spanned 40 years. He has mentored engineering and ocean science students at SDSU, UCSD, MIT, JHU, and elsewhere. Hardy was honored with a PhD (h.c.) from Shanghai Ocean University in 2018.
 
Brock Rosenthal, President, Ocean Innovations (La Jolla, CA), is a manufacturer’s representative of underwater connectors and cables, and other quality oceanographic hardware. Brock and his associates have helped numerous end-users clearly define their operational requirements before selecting their underwater suppliers. He advocates for end-users to make sure companies provide products on time with adequate technical support.
 
Rob Morris, Product Line Sales Manager, Releases and Side Scan Sonars, Edgetech, Inc., West Wareham, MA. Rob supported the adaptation of EdgeTech’s circular BART (Burnwire Acoustic Release Transponder) board with an expanded suite of acoustic command options and a topside deck unit for Hardy’s first Nautilus Marine Service’s Vitrovex glass sphere ocean trench lander, DOV Bobby Ray. It was the final piece of the puzzle for a new generation of ocean trench landers.