SeeByte, ASV and the Marine Biological Association of the UK have been Awarded Funding for the Second Phase of Autonomous Ocean Research Study

Following the successful completion of the initial phase, SeeByte, ASV and the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom have been awarded funding to carry out phase two of the Adaptive Autonomous Ocean Sampling Networks (AAOSN) SBRI call.

The aim of the project is to reduce the complexity and frequency of operator input when supervising large fleets of autonomous systems from the shore.

Extending the tagged fish work carried out in phase one, this second phase will seek to design autonomous behaviors to address five scenarios including oil spill, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM), seabed mapping, fish tracking and tidal mixing.

The behaviors will integrate sensor data and interpretation methods to enable adaptive, multi-vehicle missions using combinations of ASV, AUV and Glider assets.

ASV’s C-Enduro (Autonomous Surface Vehicle

Trials for this project will be conducted integrating SeeByte’s Neptune, which already forms the basis of the UK Maritime Autonomy Framework (MAF), onto various autonomous assets including the ASV’s C-Enduro, a long endurance Autonomous Surface Vehicle, using a common interface and control system.

The C-Enduro will operate a multi-beam echo sounder and PAM system.

SeeByte’s Neptune is an adaptive planning tool for optimising the execution of AUV operations. It supports high-level goal-based mission descriptions and allows the matching of mission requirements against vehicle 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.

The National Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), with Innovate UK ran an SBRI competition with funding of £1.45m to develop new technology solutions for coordinating a suite of marine autonomous systems (MAS) enabling tracking of dynamic features.

Innovate UK is the new name for the Technology Strategy Board – the UK’s innovation agency. Taking a new idea to market is a challenge. Innovate UK funds, supports and connects innovative businesses through a unique mix of people and programmes to accelerate sustainable economic growth.

The SBRI program uses the power of government procurement to drive innovation. It provides opportunities for innovative companies to engage with the public sector and gain contracts to solve specific problems. Competitions for new technologies and ideas are run on specific topics and aim to engage a broad range of organisations. SBRI enables the public sector to engage with industry during the early stages of development, supporting projects through the stages of feasibility and prototyping.