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ONR demonstrates EMILY capabilities at SAS 2016

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Sea Air Space 2016 Online Show Daily - Office of Naval Research
 
 
 
ONR demonstrates EMILY capabilities at SAS 2016
 
Office of Naval Research's (ONR) EMILY robotic lifeguard is staring at this year Sea-Air-Space exposition held May 16 to 18 at the Gaylord Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. During SAS, two "Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard" are demonstrating their capabilities in Potomac river while a third system is on display on ONR booth.
     
Office of Naval Research's (ONR) EMILY robotic lifeguard is staring at this year Sea-Air-Space exposition held May 16 to 18 at the Gaylord Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. During SAS, two "Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard" are demonstrating their capabilities in Potomac's waters while a third system is on display on ONR booth.
Two EMILY robotic lifeguards are showcasing their capabilities on Potomac river during SAS 2016
     
EMILY is the successful culmination of a collaboration between inventor Tony Mulligan, ONR and the Navy’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. SBIR provides the Navy with innovative advances in technology created by small firms—while STTR transitions products developed by both small businesses and research institutions to the Navy and Marine Corps.

Outfitted in bright orange, red and yellow colors, each cylindrical EMILY buoy is four feet long and weighs 25 pounds. It’s powered by a jet engine system similar to a mini jet ski, shoots a water jet stream for propulsion and travels up to 22 miles per hour. EMILY also has two-way communication radios, a video camera with a live feed to smart phones and lights for night rescues.

"EMILY is made of Kevlar and aircraft-grade composites and is virtually indestructible,” said Mulligan, CEO of Hydronalix, a maritime robotics company. “The devices can be thrown off a helicopter or bridge and then driven via remote control to whoever needs to be rescued.”

EMILY’s roots stretch back to 2001, when Mulligan received ONR and SBIR-STTR funding to develop a computer- and sensor-operated UAV to monitor whale movements during Navy sonar testing. However, when the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq erupted, Mulligan improved and transformed his vehicles into Silver Fox UAVs in 2003, which helped U.S. troops conduct aerial surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

     

A third EMILY system is also displayed on ONR's booth at Sea-Air-Space
     
In 2011, Mulligan received funding to disassemble existing Silver Foxes and use their components, such as motor parts and navigation computers, to build unmanned surface vehicles for hurricane tracking, tsunami response and search-and-rescue missions. This technology was built upon to develop EMILY.

Mulligan also has worked with ONR’s SwampWorks program—which specializes in innovative, high-risk technologies—to develop components that went into both EMILY and the Mobile Gateway Buoy, designed to support Navy mine counter-measure missions.

Mulligan has provided more than 260 EMILY devices to navies, coast guards and search-and-rescue units in South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, France, Mongolia, Brazil, Mexico and Greece. U.S. rescue teams in Oregon and Washington, D.C., also have expressed interest in the robotic lifeguard.