A nonprofit oceanographic research center in Moss Landing, California, secured rights to use technology designed by Northrop Grumman to facilitate underwater electrical connections as part of a non-exclusive licensing deal.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute plans to further develop and apply the NiobiCon technology to power autonomous underwater vehicles intended for deep-ocean studies, Northrop said Friday.
"NiobiCon connector technology has the potential to dramatically reduce the frequency at which our underwater vehicles need to return to shore, enabling us to achieve a persistent presence at sea," said Andrew Hamilton, chair of MBARI's engineering division.
Northrop said its power connection system uses niobium to create a molecule-sized insulating layer and protect connectors from being exposed to water before they link with one another.
The company signed its first non-exclusive NiobiCon licensing agreement with interconnecting technology manufacturing company iCONN Systems last year.