The Steber Solar Sailor Bluebottle, tasked for ocean monitoring and surveillance, is a joint project between two New South Wales-based companies – boat builders Steber International and marine technology company Solar Sailor.
Launched at the Pacific 2013 Defence Conference in Sydney, Bluebottles operate on energy available at sea – solar, wave and wind.
According to Steber International, the craft's unmanned and low-cost operation makes the concept "an ideal platform for ocean surveillance both above and below the surface".
The Bluebottle's innovative design and technology can endure all sea conditions while providing a stable "roll-dampened" platform for above and below water surveillance with low-cost cameras and radar.
Targeted to defence markets, the vessel can also provide a communications link between aerial and submarine assets.
Self-deploying and self-retrieving, Bluebottles can roam widely or be kept on-station "virtually indefinitely".
