First RAMONES trials performed with the IST Glider

The RAMONES consortium is happy to announce that the first trials with one of the Autonomous Underwater Gliders took place in Portugal last 21st October in a test tank owned by EMEPC (Portuguese Task Group for the Extension of the Continental Shelf). The major goal of these trials was to test the behavior of the glider at the surface after having added some additional flotation and ballast. These add-ons are very important because they will allow us to performing engineering trials at the surface after the RAMONES radioactivity sensors and modems have been installed on the gliders. We also took the opportunity to test the thruster at different set points, up to 100%. It was great to see the vehicle accelerating quickly and we had to pull hard the “leash” in order to make it stop before colliding with the tank wall in front of the glider! It was a great day with great results, hosted by great friends!