Eureka! Wave Glider

I was cruising SOUTHCOMs photo gallery the other day and came across this image.

MONTEREY, Calif. (Jan. 23, 2012) -- Naval Postgraduate School Research Prof. of physics Joseph Rice describes to Commander, U.S. Southern Command Gen. Douglas Fraser, the auto-propulsion dynamics used in a long endurance wave-glider craft, which uses wave action as its thrust through water. It is tethered to a platform of solar cells and is capable of transmitting bathymetry and other oceanographic data via satellite. The two craft were recently acquired from Liquid Robotics of Sunnyvale, Calif., and will serve as test beds for NPS student research thesis. (U.S. Navy photo by Javier Chagoya/Released).

When I saw the image, I was like "Eureka!" I know exactly what that is. It reminded me of this article by CDR Rawley from last year. A friend of mine once told me about his visit with the folks who make these craft. He was incredibly impressed by those smart folks and their many creative ideas.

I sometimes laugh at the various fun concepts a "Department of Dirty Tricks" today like the one Admiral Halsey ran in the 1940s could come up with on a platform like this. A maneuvering SATCOM/GPS capable computer with a renewable power source. It doesn't take a deviant mind to recognize the potential for deviant activities...