These trials organized in the scope of the CUV-ME project (Cooperative Unmanned Vehicles in the Maritime Environment) took place April 19-24, 2021 in Split, Croatia and had inter-vehicle underwater localization and communication testing as the main objective. Degaussian station at Marjan peninsula, managed by the Republic of Croatia Armed Forces (OSRH) was a great location to work at with a full logistical  support (location, work tent, divers, boats etc.) provided by OSRH. 

The sea trials were a great opportunity for all vehicles to be deployed at the same time and to work cooperatively. The primary objective was to  assess  the  current navigational  accuracy of all the mentioned underwater platforms, and the ability to communicate between surface and underwater platforms. Another objective of these trials was to record datasets for diver detection in forward looking sonar imagery and for the detection of diver presence by detecting diver breathing/bubbles sounds recorded by a hydrophone.

The trials were successful at providing a proof of concept for cross-country USV-AUV communication and data exchange. Data collection was completed successfully with shown reproducibility and repeatability. Additionally, capability to exchange underwater mapping data formats between the University of Zagreb and OSRH was validated.