The Wave Glider: A Wave-Powered autonomous marine vehicle

The wave glider is a new autonomous marine vehicle that is unique in its ability to harness ocean wave energy for platform propulsion. This paper provides an overview of the wave glider vehicle´s architecture and capabilities, and presents results from the extensive engineering sea trials that we have conducted with several prototype and the current production generations of the vehicle. The vehicle´s performance in a variety of ocean conditions is described. The vehicle´s robustness and capabilities for extended mission durations are also examined. The vehicle´s autonomous control architecture is explained, as are the Web-based interfaces for external control and monitoring of the platform. Finally, we discuss several payload packages that have been or are currently being developed for the vehicle.