...the Center of Excellence in Undersea Technology at the University of Rhode Island...was established last January in partnership with NUWC to collaborate on a wide range of innovative research and education initiatives... 

One of the Center’s initial projects, led by the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) and involving a number of Rhode Island-based businesses, was the first phase of the development of a prototype of an undersea perimeter defense system that will detect, classify and respond to undersea threats against critical infrastructure like ports and military facilities on shore.

In addition, testing began this fall in Narragansett Bay on an integrated system of undersea sensors and data management tools that are being linked to oceanographic measurement devices and underwater vehicles in a high-tech project called the Ocean Response Coastal Analysis System. Initial demonstrations of the project...have shown the capability to monitor dissolved oxygen levels using remotely controlled sensors deployed on bottom-mounted vertical profilers and autonomous underwater vehicles...

...“Few of these projects would have advanced as quickly as they have without the support of the Center of Excellence to coordinate funding, formation of research teams, and associated administrative details,” said Spaulding. “The Center has become a vital vehicle for fostering collaboration between academic institutions, industry and the Navy.”