Subsea Power Pucks Take Center Stage at TAC Challenge 2023

TAC Challenge is a unique annual event that attracts the world's best STEM students. Tau Autonomy Center is the host of the competition, and the students will be challenged to perform piloted and autonomous missions within subsea and airfields. TAC Challenge 2023 will take place from June 9th to June 13th at Tau Autonomy Center, outside of Stavanger, Norway.


Images (from left): Rune Rosnes, Helge Sverre Eide (COurtesy of Hanne Tveit, Hike kommunikasjon


The Debut of Subsea Power Pucks
This year, subsea docking will be one of the missions for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles. The mission will be using a Subsea Power Puck developed by Subsea USB, a Norwegian spin-off company from Blue Logic, which focuses on underwater inductive connectors for the global subsea industry.

TAC Challenge 2023 will mark the proper debut of the Subsea Power Puck, with a primary focus on demonstrating the power transfer capabilities. The Subsea Power Puck enables an Underwater Vehicle to charge its battery while the hard drive emptied. It consists of a primary side and a secondary side. The primary Power Puck is placed on the docking station and the secondary Power Puck is on the drone.


The Power Puck combines CC/CV Charging of Lithium-ion batteries and 100Mbit Ethernet in one connection, and the system can interface battery configurations for 4S to 12S, covering all types of micro drones designed for operation down to 400m. The Power Puck's compact solution is highly efficient from 15 % to 100 % capacity, eliminating additional DC/DC hardware that causes inefficiency. The technology has a built-in DC/DC active control, serves as a galvanic insulation, step-up and step-down transformer, and the software can regulate voltage by +/- 20 %, making it a current limiter and a charger directly.

Connecting Students and Businesses
– We have students arriving from all over the world. For the first time students from India, Poland and Turkey will join TAC Challenge, says Rune Rosnes, Program Director, TAC Challenge.

– TAC Challenge is not only a competition but also a unique arena for connecting students and businesses together, aiming to increase recruitment and create awareness of various companies in the international student environment, says Helge Sverre Eide, Business Manager in Subsea USB.

TAC Challenge 2023 promises to be an exciting competition that brings together the best STEM students in autonomous drone technology. Tau Autonomy Center is excited to host the event and is grateful to collaborate with Blue Logic, whose innovative technology will be an integral part of the competition.



Location: Stavanger, Norway