Altium Case Studies Enhancing Oceanic Research with IoT: A Case Study on Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

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	Enhancing Oceanic Research with IoT: A Case Study on Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Altium

Enhancing Oceanic Research with IoT: A Case Study on Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

Altium

Technology Category	Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) Other - Battery
Applicable Industries	Marine & Shipping Plastics
Applicable Functions	Product Research & Development
Use Cases	Additive Manufacturing Time Sensitive Networking
Challenge	The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) has been conducting extensive research on our oceans for over three decades. Their studies range from examining the axial seamount and the active submarine volcano along the Juan de Fuca Ridge off the coast of Oregon to studying methane and hydrocarbons in mud in the Arctic. The research is crucial for understanding the extent of climate change, focusing on the biologic response of stressors to the oceans. However, the process of studying these changes, which involves deep-water mapping three to four thousand meters below the ocean surface, collecting sonar data, and measuring turbulence and bioluminescence up to 150 days per year, is challenging. MBARI uses its proprietary technology, including long-range autonomous underwater vehicles (LRAUVs), to conduct these studies. However, designing these LRAUVs and packing them with ample capabilities within a small space, including 5000-watt lithium-ion batteries encased in air-tight sheet metal pressure housing, is a complex task. Read More
About Customer	The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is a leading oceanographic research center that has been studying our oceans for over 30 years. Their research spans a wide range of areas, from examining the axial seamount and the active submarine volcano along the Juan de Fuca Ridge off the coast of Oregon to studying methane and hydrocarbons in mud in the Arctic. MBARI's research is crucial for understanding the extent of climate change, particularly the biologic response of stressors to the oceans. The institute uses its proprietary technology, including long-range autonomous underwater vehicles (LRAUVs), to conduct these studies. The LRAUVs are designed to measure, collect, and film every 30 days, providing invaluable data for their research. Read More
Solution	Altium Designer and Altium 365 have been instrumental in helping MBARI design these autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), significantly reducing development time. Altium 365 leverages CAD-specific intelligence to store design data in a way that makes projects, files, and version history accessible and easy to navigate on the web. This allows MBARI’s research and development team to work from anywhere in the world, even when they’re out at sea. Altium Designer, accessible via the integrated Altium 365 platform, integrates seamlessly with their mechanical CAD tools. It allows the team to see how everything fits together early on, making working with advanced parts much easier with Altium’s extensive parts library. The ability to adjust schematics and footprints at different stages in the design process is essential for the team, especially due to the limited physical space they’re working with when they design custom PCBs for AUVs. Altium Designer makes it easy to make changes long before the manufacturing stage, eliminating paper trails and making the entire design and manufacturing process much faster and easier. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)

Other - Battery

Applicable Industries

Marine & Shipping

Plastics

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development

Use Cases

Additive Manufacturing

Time Sensitive Networking

Challenge

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) has been conducting extensive research on our oceans for over three decades. Their studies range from examining the axial seamount and the active submarine volcano along the Juan de Fuca Ridge off the coast of Oregon to studying methane and hydrocarbons in mud in the Arctic. The research is crucial for understanding the extent of climate change, focusing on the biologic response of stressors to the oceans. However, the process of studying these changes, which involves deep-water mapping three to four thousand meters below the ocean surface, collecting sonar data, and measuring turbulence and bioluminescence up to 150 days per year, is challenging. MBARI uses its proprietary technology, including long-range autonomous underwater vehicles (LRAUVs), to conduct these studies. However, designing these LRAUVs and packing them with ample capabilities within a small space, including 5000-watt lithium-ion batteries encased in air-tight sheet metal pressure housing, is a complex task.

About Customer

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is a leading oceanographic research center that has been studying our oceans for over 30 years. Their research spans a wide range of areas, from examining the axial seamount and the active submarine volcano along the Juan de Fuca Ridge off the coast of Oregon to studying methane and hydrocarbons in mud in the Arctic. MBARI's research is crucial for understanding the extent of climate change, particularly the biologic response of stressors to the oceans. The institute uses its proprietary technology, including long-range autonomous underwater vehicles (LRAUVs), to conduct these studies. The LRAUVs are designed to measure, collect, and film every 30 days, providing invaluable data for their research.

Solution

Altium Designer and Altium 365 have been instrumental in helping MBARI design these autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), significantly reducing development time. Altium 365 leverages CAD-specific intelligence to store design data in a way that makes projects, files, and version history accessible and easy to navigate on the web. This allows MBARI’s research and development team to work from anywhere in the world, even when they’re out at sea. Altium Designer, accessible via the integrated Altium 365 platform, integrates seamlessly with their mechanical CAD tools. It allows the team to see how everything fits together early on, making working with advanced parts much easier with Altium’s extensive parts library. The ability to adjust schematics and footprints at different stages in the design process is essential for the team, especially due to the limited physical space they’re working with when they design custom PCBs for AUVs. Altium Designer makes it easy to make changes long before the manufacturing stage, eliminating paper trails and making the entire design and manufacturing process much faster and easier.

Impact #1	The use of Altium Designer and Altium 365 has revolutionized the way MBARI conducts its research. The software's ability to integrate seamlessly with mechanical CAD tools has made the design process of the LRAUVs more efficient and error-free. The extensive parts library has made finding the necessary parts easier, saving time and effort. The ability to adjust schematics and footprints at different stages in the design process has reduced the potential for errors later on in the manufacturing process. The software's version control feature has simplified the tracking of changes, making the entire design and manufacturing process much faster and easier. Furthermore, the ability to access designs from offshore while out in the ocean has taken remote work to a whole new level. This has enabled MBARI to increase the frequency of their missions, providing essential data for understanding climate change and its effects on our oceans.

Impact #1

The use of Altium Designer and Altium 365 has revolutionized the way MBARI conducts its research. The software's ability to integrate seamlessly with mechanical CAD tools has made the design process of the LRAUVs more efficient and error-free. The extensive parts library has made finding the necessary parts easier, saving time and effort. The ability to adjust schematics and footprints at different stages in the design process has reduced the potential for errors later on in the manufacturing process. The software's version control feature has simplified the tracking of changes, making the entire design and manufacturing process much faster and easier. Furthermore, the ability to access designs from offshore while out in the ocean has taken remote work to a whole new level. This has enabled MBARI to increase the frequency of their missions, providing essential data for understanding climate change and its effects on our oceans.

Benefit #1	Reduced development time for designing autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs)
Benefit #2	Ability to work from anywhere in the world, including at sea
Benefit #3	Ability to adjust schematics and footprints at different stages in the design process, saving time and reducing potential errors

Benefit #1

Reduced development time for designing autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs)

Benefit #2

Ability to work from anywhere in the world, including at sea

Benefit #3

Ability to adjust schematics and footprints at different stages in the design process, saving time and reducing potential errors

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Overview

Enhancing Oceanic Research with IoT: A Case Study on Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit