Credit: Beth Watson/Getty Images
The naval architecture and marine engineering programme at NPU is developing network-based, intelligent, digitalized, and autonomous precision marine equipment to help China become a maritime power. It focuses on basic theoretical research encompassing marine equipment design, underwater navigation and control, deep-sea environment characteristics, ocean acoustics, underwater acoustic signals and information processing, smart information sensing, and noise and vibration control. NPU has already made many breakthroughs in key technologies including in underwater sonar, unmanned underwater vehicle and underwater networking.
Marine engineering increasingly requires unmanned marine technology and NPU is leading a project to design a 50-kilogram portable autonomous observation system. Researchers have overcome the technical hurdles involved in maintaining motion control in conditions where there is strong multi-modal interference, and created a number of products over which they have full intellectual property rights. All this marks an important step forward for the industrialization of small underwater vehicles.
NPU also has a strong acoustic engineering programme that enjoys the support of national-level key laboratories dealing with underwater information and control, as well as ocean acoustics and sensing. It has taken on many scientific projects on ocean acoustics, underwater acoustical signal processing and system design, and maritime trans-horizon propagation. It is also leading a national major programme investigating China’s marine environment, having completed six acoustic investigations in ocean. Other achievements include developing China’s first on-board underwater acoustic detection system, a deep sea synchronized underwater acoustic subsurface buoy array, a novel hydrophone for underwater acoustic measurement at depths of 10,000 metres and a trans-horizon propagation system near the sea surface. NPU has won three state science and technology awards for its contributions to China’s marine technology power.