Juliet Marine Systems, Inc. has announced plans to construct Guardian, a submersible unmanned surface vehicle (USV) that is a variation of JMS’ existing GHOST vessel and that offers a unique suite of capabilities in a single platform. The GHOST is a small waterplane-area twin-hull (SWATH) vessel for the safe transport of personnel and payloads.

Gregory Sancoff, President and CEO of JMS, said, “We believe Guardian is the first surface vessel that is a fully submersible USV and one that will meet or exceed the USV mission needs of navies around the world at relatively low cost. We expect it to transform the way navies fulfill their operational requirements in maritime technology and provide greater capacity in littoral operations, with a host of multi-mission capabilities encompassing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR); mine hunting; and anti-swarm, short-range firepower. There is no other platform like this in the world.”

Incorporating drag reduction technology tested and proved in the GHOST vessel and powered by a diesel powertrain with a hybrid electric drive, Guardian is intended for surface and subsurface operations, either manned or unmanned. It will extend 30 to 45 feet in length with a top speed of 35 knots when operating in surface mode with four feet of draft in the water. The vessel, which can be manufactured in 18 to 24 months, is designed for easy maintenance with standard systems and can be easily transported via sea, air and land. Guardian’s design can be reconfigured to meet a customer’s specifications and is designed to provide a smooth, stable ride to save the operator from heavy impact in rough seas.

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Northrop Grumman has announced that it has successfully demonstrated the AQS-24B mine hunting system at the Royal Navy-sponsored Unmanned Warrior exercise in Scotland. This was the first time the AQS-24B towed mine hunting sensor has been deployed from an unmanned surface vessel in British waters.

The demonstration highlights Northrop Grumman’s role in proving the operational utility of unmanned maritime systems in the air, surface and subsurface domains. The system was remotely launched, towed and recovered from Atlas Elektronik U.K.’s ARCIMS Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) and was operated from a shore base at speeds of up to 18 knots. The USV/ AQS-24B combination quickly completed a number of scenarios and challenges that were set by the Royal Navy’s Mine Warfare Group.

The AQS-24B system includes what Northrop Grumman claims is the world’s first operational High Speed Synthetic Aperture Sonar (HSSAS), and an optical laser line scan sensor. With this unique sensor combination the system demonstrated its versatility by performing mine detection, localisation, classification and identification in a simulated mine field at the British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre (BUTEC) range in Scotland.

“Our team’s demonstration at Unmanned Warrior proves that unmanned systems combined with the right payloads can perform high speed mine countermeasures tasks, greatly reducing the mine clearance timeline while keeping naval personnel out of harm’s way,” said Alan Lytle, vice president, undersea systems, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems. “The USV/AQS-24B combination provides a highly effective and affordable mine countermeasure solution for our allies and theatre security partners.”

“The collaborative spirit shown across all parties in the Unmanned Warrior exercise has been exceptional,” said Andrew Tyler, chief executive, Northrop Grumman Europe. “The exercise has demonstrated the technologies that underpin the USV/AQS-24B capability are at a mature readiness level and could be deployed in the short to medium term.”

The Unmanned Warrior demonstration builds on Northrop Grumman’s successful unmanned demonstration at the U.S. Navy’s Annual Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX) at Newport, Rhode Island, where unmanned surface, undersea and air assets collaboratively conducted an anti-submarine warfare mission.

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Liquid Robotics and Boeing have announced that the two firms have used a network of persistent unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) to detect, report and track a live submarine in a naval demonstration.

Four Sensor Hosting Autonomous Remote Craft (SHARCs) were deployed off the coast of Northern Scotland during the British Royal Navy’s Unmanned Warrior 2016 demonstration. The autonomous surface vehicles used advanced Boeing acoustic sensors in the live anti-submarine warfare (ASW) mission.

Over the two-week demonstration, the SHARCs successfully detected and tracked an advancing unmanned underwater vehicle and, most significantly, a manned diesel submarine. The SHARCs provided detailed and actionable intelligence to commanders through more than 100 automated contact reports, proving the USVs efficacy to autonomously conduct ASW missions and exchange data in real time.

“The Boeing and Liquid Robotics team are redefining the state of the art for autonomous maritime warfare,” said Kory Mathews, Vice President, Autonomous Systems for Boeing Defense, Space & Security. “Our work during Unmanned Warrior demonstrates without a doubt the practicality of using autonomous systems to provide real-time actionable intelligence to our warfighters.”

In addition to the ASW mission, two SHARCs equipped with meteorological and oceanographic sensors were deployed to the North Atlantic to gather data that ultimately contributed to sensor prediction models for Unmanned Warrior and Joint Warrior, a major bi-annual collective training exercise also hosted by the Royal Navy. The SHARCs operated 24/7 in harsh conditions unfavorable for manned operations – waves in excess of 6.6 meters and winds of more than 60 knots – to autonomously provide real-time data on the weather and ocean conditions critical to the safe operation of the Unmanned Warrior systems.

“Together, Liquid Robotics and Boeing achieved a groundbreaking milestone in unmanned maritime warfare,” said Gary Gysin, President & Chief Executive Officer, Liquid Robotics. “We proved that SHARCs can augment the tedious and dangerous task of continuous maritime surveillance by our warfighters and provide critical real-time intelligence to commanders.”

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Automated Ships Ltd and Kongsberg Maritime have announced that the two firms have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build what they claim will be the world’s first unmanned and fully-automated vessel for offshore operations. The “Hrönn” will be designed and built in Norway, and sea trials will take place in Norway’s newly designated automated vessel test bed in the Trondheim fjord and will be conducted under the auspices of DNV GL and the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA). The Hrönn will ultimately be classed and flagged.

Currently, only small unmanned boats are being utilised for near shore operations but there are no technical limitations to constructing large, unmanned and automated systems. The only impediments are regulatory, but with the participation of DNV GL and the NMA, and Norwegian and UK companies and institutions, Automated Ships Ltd and Kongsberg hope to be the first to market with a full-size unmanned ship.

Hrönn is a light-duty, offshore utility ship servicing the offshore energy, scientific/hydrographic and offshore fish-farming industries. Its intended uses include but are not limited to: Survey, ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) and AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) Launch & Recovery, light intermodal cargo delivery and delivery to offshore installations, and open-water fish farm support. The vessel can also be utilised as a standby vessel, able to provide firefighting support to an offshore platform working in cooperation with manned vessels. Automated Ships Ltd is currently in discussion with several end-users that will act as early-adopters, aiming to establish a base-rate for operations and secure contracts for Hrönn offshore in the near future.

Hrönn will initially operate and function primarily as a remotely piloted ship, in Man-in-the-Loop Control mode, but will transition to fully automated, and ultimately autonomous operations as the control algorithms are developed concurrently during remotely piloted operations.

Automated Ships Ltd will be the primary integrator, project manager and ship-owner. The project will leverage existing technology to develop a robust, flexible and low-cost ship which will offer a capable work-boat and R&D asset for the furtherance of this emerging industry sector.

Kongsberg’s role in the project is to deliver all major marine equipment necessary for the design, construction and operation of Hrönn. The global maritime technology manufacturer will deliver all systems for dynamic positioning and navigation, satellite and position reference, marine automation and communication. All vessel control systems including K-Pos dynamic positioning, K-Chief automation and K-Bridge ECDIS will be replicated at an Onshore Control Centre, allowing full remote operations of the Hrönn.

“The advantages of unmanned ships are manifold, but primarily centre on the safe guarding of life and reduction in the cost of production and operations; removing people from the hazardous environment of at-sea operations and re-employing them on-shore to monitor and operate robotic vessels remotely, along with the significantly decreased cost in constructing ships, will revolutionise the marine industry. Automated Ships Ltd will be at the forefront of that revolution, along with its many Norwegian partners,” said Managing Director Brett A. Phaneuf of Automated Ships Ltd.

“Research, innovation and technology development are at the core of DNV GL’s business-development philosophy. In general, we are widely involved in the qualification of new shipping technology. Increased automation combined with remote monitoring and control is an inevitable trend and has the potential to create safer and more efficient transport and operations at sea. This may lead to unmanned ships, as in this case, and the technologies involved also have the potential to improve the safety and efficiency of manned ships in the form of increased decision support and operational assistance. The contract that has been announced today is a brave initiative and a major step towards the realisation of these technologies, and we look forward to moving technology frontiers together with all those involved,” said Bjørn Johan Vartdal, Head of DNV GL Maritime Research.

“We are proud and excited to be part of the first project to actually realise the potential of unmanned vessels by supporting the construction of the first full size, fully operational example,” added Stene Førsund, EVP Global Sales & Marketing, Kongsberg Maritime. “The Hrönn is an incredible ship and a great example of KONGSBERG’s commitment to developing autonomous and unmanned vessels. We are involved in several major projects in this field including AUTOSEA, which focuses on integrated sensor technology and fusion, and automated collision avoidance systems. KONGSBERG is also a key stakeholder in the world’s first official autonomous vehicles test bed, which opened this September in the Trondheimsfjord.”

Hrönn is expected to be built by Fjellstrand AS, a Norwegian shipyard with a long history of building state-of-the-art aluminium fast ferries in addition to a number of steel offshore vessels and aluminium work boats. As the builder of the world’s first battery driven car ferry, ‘Ampere’, Fjellstrand AS is well known for taking the lead in maritime innovation and green technology.

“Fjellstrand AS has for years worked within the high-end development of new vessels.To design and build future ships with autonomic technology will be an exciting challenge, and follows the path laid from the recent building of Ampere where technology is pushed forward in good cooperation with partners,” said Morten Berhovde, Technical Director, Fjellstrand AS.

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Leidos has announced that it is beginning operational testing of the technology demonstration vessel it is developing for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)’s Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program. Testing will occur off the coast of San Diego, California, and follows the successful completion of performance trials.

The 132-foot trimaran, christened Sea Hunter at a ceremony in April 2016, has commenced at-sea testing of sensors, mission control hardware and software, and the autonomy system. In initial testing of Sea Hunter’s autonomy capability, the ship successfully executed a multi-waypoint mission with no person directing course or speed changes. Leidos also completed a test of the Remote Supervisory Control Station (RSCS), which allows remote supervisory control of the vessel and enables new mission tasking from a remote location, either afloat or ashore. The completion of the RSCS test was the final test before beginning more extensive autonomous operations. Testing of the Sea Hunter autonomy system in a variety of mission scenarios is scheduled to continue through fall 2017 as part of a two-year test program jointly funded by DARPA and the Office of Naval Research (ONR).

“Sea Hunter is at the forefront of new autonomy technologies for the U.S. military,” said Mike Chagnon, president of the Leidos Advanced Solutions Group. “The operational testing is designed to showcase the unprecedented capabilities that this type of unmanned vessel could offer our military forces.”

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Boeing has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Liquid Robotics, a developer of autonomous maritime systems such as the Wave Glider ocean surface robot, to grow its seabed-to-space autonomous capabilities.

“With Liquid Robotics’ innovative technology and Boeing’s leading intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance solutions, we are helping our customers address maritime challenges in ways that make existing platforms smarter, missions safer and operations more efficient,” said Leanne Caret, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security.

In September 2014, Boeing and Liquid Robotics entered into a teaming agreement resulting in extensive integration on the Sensor Hosting Autonomous Remote Craft (SHARC), a version of the Wave Glider. The SHARC, integrated with Boeing’s advanced sensors, connects intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities ranging from satellites to manned and unmanned aircraft to sub-surface crafts.

Liquid Robotics has designed and manufactured the Wave Glider, the first wave and solar-powered autonomous ocean robot, since its founding in 2007. With more than 1 million nautical miles traveled, the Wave Glider’s capabilities address the challenges facing defense, commercial and science customers by making ocean data collection and communications easier, safer and immediate.

“I am proud of our team, culture, and relentless commitment to designing the best ocean surface robot in the maritime industry,” said Gary Gysin, president and CEO of Liquid Robotics. “This acquisition allows us to leverage the strengths of one of the world’s leading global companies while continuing to push our innovation to new levels.”

Liquid Robotics has approximately 100 employees in California and Hawaii. The company will become a subsidiary of Boeing, operating under its current business model.

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The U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR) has announced that it has recently tested autonomous unmanned swarming boats in a demonstration in the lower Chesapeake Bay, with results that show new possibilities for autonomy in future naval missions.

Using a unique combination of software, radar and other sensors, officials from the ONR — together with partners from industry, academia and other government organizations — were able to get a “swarm” of rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) and other small boats to collectively perform patrol missions autonomously, with only remote human supervision, rather than direct human operation, as they performed their missions.

“This demonstration showed some remarkable advances in autonomous capabilities,” said Cmdr. Luis Molina, military deputy for ONR’s Sea Warfare and Weapons Dept. “While previous work had focused on autonomous protection of high-value ships, this time we were focused on harbor approach defense.”

The autonomy technology being developed by ONR is called Control Architecture for Robotic Agent Command and Sensing, or CARACaS. The components that make up CARACaS (some are commercial off-the-shelf) are inexpensive compared to the costs of maintaining manned vessels for some of the dull, dirty or dangerous tasks—all of which can be found in the work of harbor approach defense, experts say.

“The U.S. Navy knows our most important asset, without question, is our highly trained military personnel,” said Dr. Robert Brizzolara, the program officer at ONR who oversees the effort. “The autonomy technology we are developing for our Sailors and Marines is versatile enough that it will assist them in performing many different missions, and it will help keep them safer.”

In 2014, ONR completed the first major demonstration of CARACaS technology on the James River in Virginia. At that time, the transportable kit containing the autonomy package was installed on multiple RHIBs, allowing them to operate in sync with other unmanned vessels, swarming to intercept potential enemy ships and escorting naval assets.

The demonstration held this year in October built upon the lessons learned from that successful demo. Brizzolara says that substantial additional capability has been added to CARACaS since the 2014 demo, including the ability for multiple unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) to collaborate on task allocation; the development of additional USV behaviors and tactics; and advances in automated vessel classification from imagery.

During the demo, unmanned boats were given a large area of open water to patrol. As an unknown vessel entered the area, the group of swarmboats collaboratively determined which patrol boat would quickly approach the unknown vessel, classify it as harmless or suspicious, and communicate with other swarmboats to assist in tracking and trailing the unknown vessel while others continued to patrol the area. During this time, the group of swarmboats provided status updates to a human supervisor.

“This technology allows unmanned Navy ships to overwhelm an adversary,” added Molina. “Its sensors and software enable swarming capability, giving naval warfighters a decisive edge.”

Naval leadership in recent years has emphasized a blended future force, leveraging the synergy of using manned and unmanned systems to complement each other while accomplishing missions. In the near future, unmanned boats can take on some dangerous missions, thereby protecting the warfighter, and they can do that in great numbers at a fraction of the cost of a single manned warship. Furthermore, these small boats are already in the Navy’s inventory (as manned craft) and can quickly and inexpensively be converted to an autonomous boat via the installation of a CARACaS kit.

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Elbit Systems and VideoRay have announced that technical teams from the two companies have worked together to complete successful tests of a VideoRay Pro 4 remotely operated vehicle (ROV) over a satellite link. While remote operation of VideoRay has been accomplished in multiple locations over the last several years, this was the first implementation of this kind over satellite. VideoRay systems have been incorporated as one of several payloads that can be rapidly deployed on Elbit’s Seagull unmanned surface vessel (USV), extending an impressive range of missions.

Elbit Systems’ USV Seagull’s MCM (Mine Counter Measure) capability facilitates end-to-end mine hunting operations including detection, classification, localization, identification and neutralization of bottom moored and drifting sea mines while taking the sailor out of the mine field. The VideoRay Pro ROV is capable of diving to 300 meters and working in currents up to 4 knots. It has a large number of available instruments and accessories.

The combination of these two technologies will allow a VideoRay Pro 4 to be deployed anywhere in the world, and controlled from a land site anywhere else in the world.

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Textron Systems Unmanned Systems has begun on-water testing of its fourth-generation Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV), supporting the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) program.

Textron Systems completed the design, build and component test phases of the UISS program in November 2016. Following component testing, Textron Systems began the systems level integration and test (I&T) phase, culminating in dockside and on-water testing in Lake Pontchartrain near its Marine & Land Systems facility in Louisiana. The I&T phase includes functional testing of the system’s integrated generators, engines, datalinks, as well as on-water maneuverability testing. Textron Systems will move into builders’ trials upon completion of I&T and then formal testing to validate system functionality with the U.S. Navy later this year.

“We are excited to begin system level testing of our first UISS system with mine countermeasure capabilities for the U.S. Navy,” says Vice President of Control and Surface Systems Wayne Prender. “Unmanned technology has come such a long way, and we are looking forward to beginning to apply our critical technology to protect our Naval warfighters.”

The Textron Systems Unmanned Systems fourth-generation CUSV is a multi-mission unmanned surface vehicle with a large, configurable payload bay. Since its first demonstration in 2009, the CUSV has successfully completed several prominent exercises with the U.S. Navy. The variations of the CUSV have amassed more than 2,000 on-water operational hours, and the craft is capable of carrying multiple payloads, including side-scan sonar, mine neutralization, nonlethal weapons, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensors.

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SeeByte, a developer of smart software technology for unmanned systems, and ATLAS ELEKTRONIK UK (AEUK), a specialist in delivery of maritime systems, have announced the successful integration of SeeByte’s Neptune software onto AEUK’s ARCIMS USV mission system.

ARCIMS is an unmanned surface vessel specifically designed for multi-role applications including MCM, ASW, Hydrography and security. ARCIMS hosts the AEUK autonomy engine specifically developed for towing mission systems and includes collision avoidance capabilities. This agreement sees SeeByte and AEUK develop the next generation of advanced autonomy for ARCIMS; SeeByte’s smart software integrated onto the ARCIMS USV to offer adaptive autonomy. This allows vehicles to react and adapt their missions according to feedback from their sensors. It also provides the capability to link ARCIMS with other autonomous platforms to work collaboratively on common goal-based missions.

Neptune is an adaptive planning tool for optimising the execution of UxV operations. It supports high level goal based mission descriptions and allows the matching of mission requirements against vehicle(s) capabilities. Neptune also includes behaviours capable of adapting the mission based on changes in the environment, assets and mission objectives; benefits which will be useful for future unmanned operations.

Dave Motson at AEUK commented: “AEUK is always looking for ways to bring to market technology that is ahead of the game. Autonomy is an area that is currently taking off with previously unseen capabilities frequently being developed. Our partnership with SeeByte brings together the best of both organisations to ensure we retain our market lead. ARCIMS integrated with Neptune really does provide autonomy capabilities that will open up a range of new possibilities for end-users.”

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Textron Systems Unmanned Systems has announced that it has received a $14.8 million contract to provide two additional fourth-generation Common Unmanned Surface Vehicles (CUSV) vehicles for the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) program. The U.S. Navy intends to use these two CUSV systems as part of their comprehensive Mine Counter Measure Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MCM USV) mission, which includes mine-hunting and potentially mine-neutralization, as well as mine-sweeping.

“The Navy is excited to continue to work with its industry partner, Textron Systems Unmanned Systems, to continue to develop, test and deliver additional capability to the fleet with the MCM USV platform and systems,” Captain Jon Rucker, Program Manager for the Navy’s Unmanned Maritime Systems Program Office (PMS 406) said. “The craft and its associated systems will provide a modular capability that will be a key component of the Navy’s future mine countermeasures efforts.”

These two additional CUSVs will join the U.S. Navy’s first CUSV, which is designed for the influence sweeping mission. This UISS CUSV recently completed initial testing near Textron Systems Marine & Land Systems facility in Louisiana and is currently undergoing additional testing off of the east coast of the U.S.

“We are pleased to see the U.S. Navy’s request for two additional vessels to support their mine countermeasure mission and are excited to be a part of the growing adoption of unmanned technologies in support of the U.S. Navy’s mission to safely secure our waters,” says Vice President of Control & Surface Systems Wayne Prender, “The inherent modularity that CUSV provides will enable the U.S. Navy to complete both mine-sweeping and mine-hunting missions from a single craft, demonstrating the CUSV system’s multi-mission capabilities and large, configurable payload bay.”

The CUSV is a multi-mission unmanned surface vehicle, capable of carrying multiple payloads, including side-scan sonar, mine neutralization, nonlethal weapons, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) sensors. Since its first demonstration in 2009, the CUSV has successfully completed several prominent exercises with the U.S. Navy. Today, the variations of the CUSV have amassed more than 2,000 on-water operational hours. The Textron Systems CUSV team includes its Marine & Land Systems business to leverage its 48 years of naval experience and proven ship-building capability, alongside the company’s unmanned systems expertise.

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MAP Marine Technologies, a developer of innovative autonomous marine navigation solutions for the unmanned surface vessel (USV) market, has partnered with Unmanned Systems Technology (“UST”) to demonstrate their expertise in this field. The ‘Silver’ profile showcases how their products can be utilised in a wide range of marine applications such as recreation, oil and gas, search & rescue, hydrographic survey, coastal defence and surveillance, security and target boats.

The MAP Pro Advanced Marine Autopilot is an ITAR-free commercial remote vessel control solution that allows any boat of any size, and with any propulsion system, to be quickly and easily converted to a USV, providing autonomous capabilities without the cost of buying a separate vessel.

After installing the MAP Pro Advanced, users can remotely upload and manage pre-determined courses, and control the vessel’s throttle, steering and a wide array of third-party sensors such as radars, sonars and cameras. The MAP Pro can be used to control single or multiple vessels simultaneously.

MAP Marine Technologies’ Ground Control Station (GCS) is a mobile command solution that controls unmanned operations for any USV fitted with the MAP Pro Advanced Marine Autopilot. Multiple display screens, integrated with remote vessel control systems, can be used to track and manage the operations of a single vessel or an entire fleet.

The GCS can be seamlessly integrated into any existing command station, or can be provided as a standalone platform in many possible forms to suit any operational requirements. The GCS can be deployed as a laptop or in a rugged portable hardcase, or can be integrated into a vehicle or a cargo container.

MAP Marine Technologies’ parent company Al Marakeb has also developed the B7 Security & Surveillance Unmanned Surface Vessel. This medium size fiberglass USV has been designed to provide marine solutions for a wide variety of military and commercial applications.

To find out more about MAP Marine Technologies, please visit their profile page:
http://www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com/company/map-marine-technologies/

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Yara and Kongsberg have announced that the two companies have entered into a partnership to build the vessel “Yara Birkeland”, which they claim will be the world’s first fully electric and autonomous container ship, with zero emissions. Operation is planned to start in the latter half of 2018, shipping products from Yara’s Porsgrunn production plant to Brevik and Larvik in Norway.

Named “Yara Birkeland” after Yara’s founder, the scientist and innovator Kristian Birkeland, the vessel will be the world’s first fully electric container feeder. Yara’s new vessel will reduce NOx and CO2 emissions and improve road safety by removing up to 40,000 truck journeys in populated urban areas.

Yara Birkeland will initially operate as a manned vessel, moving to remote operation in 2019 and expected to be capable of performing fully autonomous operations from 2020. The new zero-emission vessel will be a game-changer for global maritime transport contributing to meet the UN sustainability goals.

“As a leading global fertilizer company with a mission to feed the world and protect the planet, investing in this zero emission vessel to transport our crop nutrition solutions fits our strategy well. We are proud to work with Kongsberg to realize the world’s first autonomous, all-electric vessel to enter commercial operation,” says Svein Tore Holsether, President and CEO of Yara.

“Every day, more than 100 diesel truck journeys are needed to transport products from Yara’s Porsgrunn plant to ports in Brevik and Larvik where we ship products to customers around the world. With this new autonomous battery-driven container vessel we move transport from road to sea and thereby reduce noise and dust emissions, improve the safety of local roads, and reduce NOx and CO2 emissions,” says Holsether.

Kongsberg is responsible for development and delivery of all key enabling technologies on Yara Birkeland including the sensors and integration required for remote and autonomous operations, in addition to the electric drive, battery and propulsion control systems.

“By moving container transport from land to sea, Yara Birkeland is the start of a major contribution to fulfilling national and international environmental impact goals. The new concept is also a giant step forward towards increased seaborne transportation in general,” says Geir Håøy, President and CEO of Kongsberg.

As a global maritime technology company, Kongsberg’s integrated control and monitoring systems are already capable of providing technology for remote and unmanned operations. Yara Birkeland will benefit from competence and technologies developed across Kongsberg.

“Developing systems for autonomous operations is a major opening and natural step for Kongsberg, considering our decades of expertise in the development and integration of advanced sensors, control and communication systems for all areas of ship operations. Yara Birkeland will set the benchmark for the application of innovative maritime technology for more efficient and environmentally friendly shipping,” says Håøy.

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ECA Group has announced that it has successfully tested its new TOWSCA Towed Side Scan Sonar system on board one of the company’s Inspector mk. 2 unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). The TOWSCA provides vessels with a deep water survey capability.

Installed on the aft deck of the USV, the mid-size towed side scan sonar was deployed by means of a LARS (launch and recovery system) at depths of up to 100m. The system was tested at various speeds and depths and in harsh environments including sea state 3.

The TOWSCA is designed to be remotely monitored from a ground workstation through the USV radio link, providing highly accurate seafloor images. The LARS includes an auto altitude mode and automatic obstacle avoidance. Using internal sensors coupled with an Ultra Short Base Line (USBL) positioning system, the Towed Side Scan Sonar can be 3D positioned in real time, and can geolocalize and time-stamped sonar data.

The Inspector mk. 2 is a compact USV that is able to gather and transmit in real time 2D or 3D images from the seafloor while travelling at speeds of over 10 knots. Thanks to its small size, it can be easily shipped and deployed.

Equipped with the TOWSCA system, it can be utilised in many applications such as seafloor mine detection in Mine Counter Measure (MCM) missions, or wreck or debris location in Search and Rescue (SAR) operations.

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ASV Global has announced that its long-endurance autonomous surface vessel Thomas has embarked on a mission off Scotland out to the Faroe, Shetland Channel to collect oceanographic data. Along with several other surface vessels and submarine gliders, Thomas was deployed from Orkney as part of a mission being coordinated by the National Oceanography Centre.

Thomas is being operated via a satellite link from ASV Global’s newly opened Mission Control facility in Portchester. The autonomous vessel is being monitored round the clock by the company’s expert team of remote operators. This mission marks the first long endurance operation executed from Mission Control. The team are able to see live data feedback from the ASView control system as well as the onboard cameras and sensors.

The 4m autonomous catamaran is fitted with a towed passive acoustic array to collect data in an area up to 7,000 square miles. The payload fit took place in Portchester before the vessel was transported to Orkney by road.

Thomas was designed and built by ASV Global in Portchester. The vessel is part of the company’s C-Enduro range of long endurance autonomous vessels and was delivered to the NOC in 2014. Since then Thomas has completed a range of ocean science data collection missions for the NOC including a mission off the Cornish coast in May 2016.

Watch a video about ASV’s Mission Control below:

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ASV Global has announced that it is leading a collaborative research project called Autonomous Surface and Sub-surface Survey System (ASSSS), which will deliver an integrated system to provide a means of conducting low cost, shore based, full water column marine surveys using multiple unmanned systems. The project, part funded by Innovate UK, hopes to encourage wider adoption of unmanned systems.

The Autonomous Surface and Sub-Surface Survey System (ASSSS) project combines the advantages of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) to further data gathering opportunities. The ASV follows the AUV in order to provide position updates to improve dead reckoning whilst the AUV provides status updates and basic survey information back to the ASV to be transmitted to shore.

The project team conducted trials in Portchester and Plymouth, UK, with ASV Global being supported by project partners Sonardyne and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC). Sonardyne are providing a comprehensive suite of underwater positioning, communications and imaging technology for the Autosub Long Range AUV, which has been developed by NOC. ASV Global was able to demonstrate the functionality of ASSSS across six days during which the C-Worker 5 ASV successfully communicated with, and tracked, the AUV throughout.

An acoustic transceiver in the form of a GyroUSBL was fitted to the C-Worker 5, and an acoustic beacon was fitted to the ALR. In addition to this, a BlueComm 200 underwater optical communications system was used to provide high speed data uploads at set intervals to allow survey data to be uploaded from Sonardyne’s solstice system aboard the ALR. BlueComm is a system used to transmit data via pulses of light in the water, and in a future trial it will be used to send information from NOC’s ALR back to the C-Worker 5.

To enable efficient use of the autonomous vehicles a number of autonomous behaviours have been developed to allow the C-Worker 5 to automatically follow the ALR. If acoustics are lost, due to environmental conditions, the behaviours allow the ASV to hunt for the AUV and provide maximum efficiency when uploading data from the AUV to the ASV through the BlueComm link.

As part of the ASSSS project, the AUV and ASV are linked acoustically using a telemetry tracking method that is used to share location information between the two vehicles, update status information and deliver mission plans. The location information is used by the AUV to update its dead reckoning positions and allow more accurate transit of the vessel while completing a survey or carrying out sampling work. The ASV uses this location information from the AUV to follow the vehicle and maintain a link. The status and basic commands allow the AUV to be controlled through the link from the control base of the ASV. This minimises the need for the AUV to surface for updates and allows better asset utilisation when in the field. Recent trials of the system have been conducted in shallow water and have helped with adapting the system operation to mitigate for shadowing or other interference.

The objectives of this project are to accelerate the wider adoption of unmanned systems and enable long term, low-cost survey and monitoring operations for offshore energy applications, deep sea mining prospecting and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) monitoring. There will also be a consequential reduction in the need to place humans in dangerous environments and a greater acceptability of unmanned systems by operators and regulators. Adoption of the technology is likely to spawn opportunities in adjacent market sectors and facilitate cross domain technology transfer.

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Northrop Grumman has announced that it has successfully demonstrated unmanned mine-hunting capabilities using its high-speed AQS-24B sensor. The demonstration took place during the Belgian Defense Technology & Industry Day trials at the Naval Base at Zeebrugge, Belgium.

This effort, which is a follow-on to the successful operation during Unmanned Warrior in Scotland, demonstrated the high area coverage rate (ACR) achievable through combining the Atlas Elektronik UK ARCIMS unmanned surface vessel (USV) and Northrop Grumman’s AQS-24B mine hunting system. The ARCIMS USV has proven to be an extremely stable platform ideally suited for towing the high-speed AQS-24B in rough seas. The exercise not only demonstrated the modularity and ease of integration of the AQS-24B payload, but also the importance of the laser line scan sensor which serves as a gap filler for the high speed synthetic aperture sonar.

“This exercise further demonstrates that Northrop Grumman’s unmanned surface vessel MCM capabilities are well advanced,” said Andrew Tyler, chief executive, Northrop Grumman Europe. “Our collaborative approach is helping to position us to serve a leading role in the emerging underwater sensing and networking environment.”

“Our team’s demonstration at Belgium North Sea Unmanned MCM Trials proves that unmanned systems combined with the right payloads can perform high-speed mine countermeasures tasks, greatly reducing the mine clearance timeline while keeping naval personnel out of harm’s way,” said Alan Lytle, vice president, undersea systems, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems. “The ARCIMS – AQS-24B combination provides a highly effective and affordable mine countermeasure solution for our allies and theatre security partners.”

“Atlas Elektronik UK and Northrop Grumman are leading the way in demonstrating a capability that is real, mature and tested in relevant operational environments in the North Atlantic at the Royal Navy’s unmanned warrior and now in the North Sea at the Belgian Navy’s Zeebrugge sea areas,” said John Sutcliffe, director business development. “We, at AEUK, are excited about the future for unmanned systems and the potential that it offers for affordable and highly effective maritime capability.”

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Elbit Systems has announced that its Multi-Mission USV Seagull has participated in the bi-national MCM (Mine Counter-Measure) trials for unmanned maritime systems that were organized by the Directorate General of Material Resources (DGMR) of the Belgian Defence Ministry. Taking part in the trials conducted from the Belgian Zeebrugge Naval Base were several companies operating different types of unmanned underwater and surface vehicles.

Seagull is a 12-meter long USV that can be operated from a mother-ship or from shore stations. It provides multi-mission capabilities including Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Mine Hunting & Mine Sweeping (MCM), Electronic Warfare (EW), maritime security and underwater commercial missions, leveraging modular mission system installation and offering a high level of autonomy. It features inherent C4I capabilities for enhanced situation awareness and mission endurance of more than four days.

In the bi-national Belgian & Dutch MCM Trials, a single Seagull unit demonstrated MCM mission execution scanning the whole water column in one path, operating both the K5900 Side Scan Sonar (SSS) and the R2Sonic Forward Looking Sonar (FLS) for Search, Detection and Classification. On the second day the same Seagull platform, operating a VideoRayROV, a light Remotely Operated Vehicle, conducted the Identification and Demolition Phase of the Mine Hunting Mission.

Elbit Systems displayed Seagull’s quick mission ready capabilities in an unfamiliar setup, installing a mobile Command and Control unit onboard a Belgian Pollux Patrol Boat and completing all tasks in just a few hours.

The Seagull team included three operators, with two operators remotely managing the mission and the third monitoring the autonomous cruise. Operating on Elbit Systems proprietary software that includes modules for change detection and automatic target detection, Seagull performed real-time detections, mapping and classification of Mine Like Objects (MLOs). Seagull cruised at a speed of 10 knots in sea states 5 and 6, scanning three different areas,three times the size that were scanned by Autonomous Underwater Vessels (AUVs), emphasizing the Seagull’s clear advantage of processing imagery and generating actionable data in real time and issuing an on the spot report to the Belgian Navy. At the request of the Belgian Navy, the Seagull demonstration was also conducted based on Line-of-Sight (LOS) communication, despite Seagull’s capability to operate using Beyond-Line-of-Sight (BLOS) communication.

Yaron Levy, VP of Naval Systemsin Elbit Systems ISTAR Division, commented: “The bi-national trials that were conducted by the Belgian Navy clearly demonstrated the unmatched operational capabilities of the Seagull. We see a growing interest in the novel capabilities that the Seagull provides for executing top quality and cost effective MCM, ASW and commercial underwater missions.”

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ASV Global has announced that it has participated in the Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center’s LADC-GEMM consortium summer expedition to the Gulf of Mexico to monitor marine mammals near the Deepwater Horizon oil spill site.

ASV Global provided a C-Worker 5 autonomous surface vehicle as a passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) survey platform during this year’s cruise. The C-Worker 5 is a 5-meter long aluminum hull vessel with a 57 HP direct drive diesel engine. The payload outfit on this cruise was a 200m passive acoustic monitoring line array kit provided by Seiche, carried and deployed from ASV Global’s remote controlled scientific winch.

C-Worker 5 was controlled and monitored from support vessel R/V Pelican by ASV Global’s expert team of operators mobilized from Broussard, Louisiana.

On this cruise, the vessel consistently collected PAM data, comprising of whale and dolphin vocalizations and their source location. C-Worker 5 completed 1100 kilometers of transects and comparison lines over total of 8 days traveling at speeds of between 4.5 and 5.5 knots.

The expedition, which included other partners such as Oregon State University, the University of Southern Mississippi, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the University of New Orleans, Proteus Technologies, R2 Sonic, and Seiche successfully deployed five deep moorings, launched a glider, as well as running real time ASV-towed PAM and visual observations using the C-Worker 5.

LADC-GEMM have reported several acoustic and visual encounters with sperm whales and several dolphin species crediting the C-Worker 5’s ‘superb real-time data.’ C-Worker 5 provided over 90 real-time acoustic encounters with marine mammals during its 8-day operations in the Gulf of Mexico with 28 overlapping with visual encounters.

The C-Worker 5 mission also included a 15-min acoustic encounter with a beaked whale – the first ever recorded beaked whale vocalization on the ASV-towed array.

This research was made possible by a grant from The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. Data collected by the C-worker will be publicly available through the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information & Data Cooperative (GRIIDC).

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BAE Systems has announced that it has been awarded a grant of £457,000 by the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to design and deliver the UK’s first dedicated autonomous systems testing service.

Based around Portsmouth, Southampton and the South East of the Isle of Wight, BAE Systems together with ASV Global (ASV), Blue Bear Systems Research (Blue Bear), Marine Electronic Systems (MES), SeeByte and the University of Southampton, will work together to provide the service’s infrastructure, with other organisations set to join later this year. Together the Solent LEP and partner organisations are investing £1.5 million in this project, the first of its kind in the UK.

The new service will be ready for use later this year and customers will be able to conduct trials and test systems such as unmanned boats, air vehicles and autonomous sensors in a safe, controlled and realistic environment in the Solent. Backed by a comprehensive safety case, the service will make use of a secure maritime communications network and a mobile command and control centre, featuring the same technology BAE Systems provides to UK Royal Navy platforms.

The new service was announced during a two-day launch event at the Royal Marines Museum in Eastney, Portsmouth, attended by more than 100 guests from autonomous systems providers, local businesses, academia, the Armed Forces and other interested parties.

BAE Systems’ Combat Systems Head of Technology Frank Cotton said: “Autonomous and unmanned systems are widely regarded as a vital technology for the future, but there is a great deal of work to be done if we are to unlock its true potential and understand how they are best integrated into wider systems. A wide range of organisations from the defence and commercial sectors, along with academia, have ambitions for this technology and this unique service will allow them to find valuable ways to use it whilst furthering its development. The Solent area has a growing number of world class organisations operating in the autonomy sector and we are excited to be working with ASV, Blue Bear, MES, SeeByte and the University of Southampton to launch this concept this week. It is anticipated that the full test service will go live later this year.”

Solent LEP Maritime Chairman Ian Millen said: “The Solent is the heart of the UK’s Marine and Maritime sector and the assets we possess enable the region, its businesses and the UK economy to compete globally. From the Port of Southampton, the most productive port in Europe, to Portsmouth Naval Base, HQ of the Royal Navy and soon to be home to the largest aircraft carriers in UK history, the Solent is used to making waves on an international stage. The key to this success has always been founded in innovation and, through our investment to create the UK’s first autonomous systems testing service in the Solent, the LEP will ensure that the area and its businesses, large and small, continue to be a driving force for UK innovation for years to come.”

In October 2016, BAE Systems and the test service partners successfully showcased their autonomous maritime capabilities in the Royal Navy’s ‘Unmanned Warrior’ exercise – a large scale demonstration of innovative maritime robotic systems. BAE Systems’ bespoke ACER (Autonomous Control Exploitation and Realisation) system provided a flow of information from sensors on the unmanned boats to crews on the hosting warships. One of the unmanned boats used in the Unmanned Warrior exercise was BAE Systems’ Pacific Class 950 Unmanned Rigid Inflatable Boat which is capable of travelling autonomously at up to 47kts for up to 12 hours at a time. The autonomous technology on the Pacific Class 950 can be retro-fitted to existing boats.

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