Unmanned Maritime & Autonomous Systems - Market Report Q3 2017 (AUV, USV, UUV, ROV, Glider, ASV)

Unmanned Maritime Vehicles
Market Update
3rd
Quarter 2017
UVS Consulting LLC
Principal consultant: Antoine Martin
+1-650-690-2845
Antoine.Martin@UVS-Consulting.com
Please only share within your department. Do not publish. Copyright UVSC.
1

Table of Contents
Introduction 9
Methodology 10
Acronyms 11
Acquisitions & Strategic Partnerships 12
Lockheed Martin Ventures Invests in Ocean Aero
Ambient Intelligence Technology raises $1.7M
Unmanned Cargo Ship Development Alliance growing
Thales to invest in autonomy test centers
L3 Technologies acquires Adaptive Methods
Seebyte Inc under full governance of Battelle
Kraken Sonar becomes Kraken Robotics
2

Government Programs & Calls for Bids 19
US Navy awards $85M for building extra large UUV
US Navy gets a 2nd hull for ACTUV program
US Navy buys for $27M worth of Hydroid technical services and upgrades
Royal Navy seeks 'transformative' technologies
AUVs, subs, UAVs, ships, USVs all communicating: vendors’ concept video
US Navy announced Overlord USV program
US Navy open bid for one 7.5” UUV
UK Royal Navy shows far-thinking UUV concepts
China’s USV contest starts in Shanghai
Coast Guard R&D buy micro AUV
NOAA request to purchase a small USV
US Naval Research Laboratory buys Riptide micro-UUV
US Naval Research Laboratory commissions University to next gen UUV
BAE receives $4.6M for UUV program
US Geological survey RFP for AUV
3

Government Programs & Calls for Bids (continued) 34
Ocius and Thales ASWUSV Demonstration
Russia’s control of the Arctic with UUV
Advanced Naval Technology Exercise shows system of UUVs
Israeli Forces to be AUVs
US Navy exercise with unmanned air and marine at once
China’s UUV fleet monitors the South China Sea
Russia set to develop the unmanned surface vessels simulation platform
US Navy puts in another $9.7M to save Knifefish AUV program
Knifefish gets $20M over 2 years
NAVSEA to spends hundred of millions on UUV “family”
4

New Products & Technological Development 44
Kongsberg to develop USV with partner
Sea-Kit: mother USV for large AUVs
Liquid Robotics Announces Next Generation of the Wave Glider
A true hybrid AUV/ROV from Strategic Robotic Systems
Rolls-Royce reveals plans for autonomous naval vessel
Sea Machines launches its commercial USV
Kronstadt USV
Indra demonstrates prototype USV
SeaFly: new Chinese USV shipping end of year
Amphibious AUV gets ONR funding
Russian USV tested around island
OceanAlpha develops range of USVs
New Chinese Armed USV
MSubs developing a USV for Kongsberg, Bourbon’s plan to use the USV
5

Publications 58
Global Marine Technology Trends 2030
Future of the Sea: Trends in the Transport of Goods by Sea
The Ships that Could Change the Seas Forever
Unmanned Systems Buyers Guide
Events 59
3rd Unmanned Maritime Systems
Maritime Information Warfare 2017
Undersea Defense and Technology Asia
The Defense Show
Purchases & Projects 60
QinetiQ Target Systems sells 40 unmanned boats to Canadian Navy
ECA sells USV + MDV to Asian Navy
Planet Ocean and ASV showcase USV-AUV-UAV demonstration
6

Purchases & Projects (continued) 63
CSA and Okeanus Arrange Survey Spread for Harvey Aftermath
Saudi Aramco Acquires Teledyne Gavia AUV
ECA sells for €4M-€8M worth of Mine Disposal Vehicles
Start-up 1: BIKI (China) raises $500k from crowd-funding
Start-up 2: Stromkind (Austria)
Start-up 3: Hydroswarm (Boston)
New autonomous maritime test area in Finland
ASV partners with Shell for Development of USV
Embry Riddle University to develop USV on a $900k grant
BAE develops UMS testing service
OceanServer sells to FBI
Kraken for $2.5M of sonars to Ocean Infinity + 1.6M to undisclosed cust
Robosub 2017 contest
UC Davis underwater robot measures Lake Tahoe climate change
7

Purchases & Projects (continued) 77
C-Worker 4 Takes Part in Exploration Survey in the Pacific Ocean
Autonomous, electric ferry concept by Kongsberg
University of purchase Kongsberg Hugin 3000 AUV
SeaRobotics sells USV
Executive Insight by UVS Consulting 81
About UVS Consulting 82
8

Introduction
The following market update is a collection of news items (with links to
the original news sources) regarding the Unmanned Maritime Vehicles
(UMV) industry collected by UVS Consulting during the third quarter or
July-August-September of 2017. This market update is offered four
times a year to subscribers.
Each news items is supported by additional professional insight
provided by Antoine Martin, Principal Consultant of UVS Consulting. At
the end of this document in the Executive Insight section, Mr. Martin
also provides an overall commentary regarding the current state of the
unmanned maritime industry for the quarter.
9

Methodology
These news items were found by daily searches and have been
summarized and organized by type for convenient use.
Every news item has a link to its original source, listed in the title
of each news item. Simply click on the title to get more
information.
Insight has been built over time, working with more than 30
companies on strategy and business development, and by having
done market analysis and forecasts about the Unmanned
Maritime Systems sector.
10

Acronyms
AUV: Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
UUV: Unmanned Underwater Vehicle
ROV: Remote Operating Vehicle
MDV: Mine Disposal Vehicle
MCM: Mine CounterMeasures
USV: Unmanned Surface Vehicle
UMV: Unmanned Maritime Vehicle
UMS: Unmanned Maritime System
11

Acquisitions & Strategic Partnerships
12
Lockheed Martin Ventures Invests in Ocean Aero
UVSC Insight:
OceanAero is truly an exceptional vessel with unique capabilities particularly interesting to naval customers.
It is however interesting that Lockheed invested after Teledyne (a P&L-driven organization) had made an
investment in it. I personally see more value for defense customers.
12
“Lockheed Martin Ventures is making a strategic investment in Ocean
Aero, the developer of the Submaran™ unmanned maritime vehicle.
This is Lockheed Martin Ventures' third investment this year, and it will
create opportunities for both companies to grow their maritime
capabilities, with a focus on multi-domain Command, Control,
Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and
Reconnaissance.
"Ocean Aero represents the next generation of environmentally
powered, autonomous ocean systems," said Chris Moran, executive
director and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures. "Our
investment will allow us to better respond to customers' maritime
needs with technology solutions for a diverse set of missions."”

13
Ambient Intelligence Technology raises $1.7M
UVSC Insight:
The website to the company is http://kukanchi.jp.
The announcement is unimpressive with a photo that makes the vehicle look like something made with PVC
pipes in a student competition. For this amount of money, the company must offer key artificial intelligence,
or autonomy - something that has not been disclosed.
13

14
Unmanned Cargo Ship Development Alliance growing
UVSC Insight:
Now that the autonomous cargo ship race started, consortia and groups are at their best tackling large
hurdles and from which all the members benefit. With he largest ports and maritime traffic now located in
Asia/China, it is natural that Chinese entities are taking part in this endeavor.
What this really means is that the Chinese will play a key role in autonomous cargo vessels and surrounding
services.
14
“ABS joined the Unmanned Cargo Ship Development Alliance. The
design will integrate features of independent decision-making,
autonomous navigation, environmental perception and remote
control.
The Unmanned Cargo Ship Development Alliance, chaired by HNA
Technology Group Co, Ltd., was formed with nine members,
including ABS, CCS, China Ship Research & Development Institute,
Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research Institute, Ltd,
Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd, Marine Design
Research Institute of China (MARIC), Rolls-Royce, and Wartsila. The
alliance officially launched at the end of June and expects to deliver
the unmanned cargo ship by October 2021.”

15
Thales to invest in autonomy test centers
UVSC Insight:
Almost ten years ago, the UK developed unmanned aerial vehicle test centers. The US followed suit seven
years later. Those did not achieve much commercial success.
However for large companies with many government contracts, those centers provide good opportunities
for collaboration.
15
“Thales is announcing a major commitment to develop future
autonomous and unmanned technology across air and sea by
investing in two new UK-based trials and training centers.
"Investing in these facilities enables the safe test, evaluation
and training of autonomous platforms, innovative research and
development, as well as the regulations for military and civil
applications. These facilities will be central to the growth of
Thales’s future autonomous capability," said Victor Chavez,
CEO of Thales in the UK.
Thales will invest $9.3 million across the two regions, and
sustain around 60 jobs in the local areas.”

16
L3 Technologies acquires Adaptive Methods
UVSC Insight:
L-3 has been making a number of key acquisition in the Unmanned Maritime space, in USV (Calzoni, 2012),
and UUV (Ocean Server, 2017). Continuing to purchase small companies with unique technology is a good
strategic method to be an innovative company - even though the acquired companies have a fair level of
independence.
This acquisition shows L-3 is committed to autonomous and unmanned marine technology.
16
“L3 Technologies (NYSE:LLL) announced today that it has acquired
Adaptive Methods, Inc. (“Adaptive Methods”). The acquisition was
completed on September 8, 2017, and the terms were not disclosed.
The business will be renamed L3 Adaptive Methods and will be
integrated into L3’s Sensor Systems business segment.
Based in Centreville, Virginia, Adaptive Methods is a systems
engineering company that delivers Undersea Warfare (USW) and
Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) capabilities for U.S. military customers.
It is also developing autonomy and sensor payload solutions for use by
Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUVs). Additionally, the company
provides tactical buoy systems for manned and unmanned platform.”

17
Seebyte Inc under full governance of Battelle
UVSC Insight:
To be successful in the US Defense market, one has to be raising ‘walls’ so the technology and contracts do
not interact at all outside the US (electronic) borders. Battelle’s full control of SeeByte is really to boost US
government contracts since Seebyte is a Scottish company.
17
“Battelle is now modifying the structure of SeeByte to transfer control of U.S.
subsidiary SeeByte Inc. based in San Diego, California, directly to Battelle.
This removes from SeeByte Inc. any issues associated with foreign ownership,
influence or control, and will further open avenues to conduct business with
U.S. government customers.
To further that aim, SeeByte, Inc. has opened an office in the Boston,
Massachusetts area, which will provide direct support to existing and emerging
customers.”

18
Kraken Sonar becomes Kraken Robotics
UVSC Insight:
Companies that make critical components (e.g. navigation, motors) often integrate ‘up’ to a product. Kraken
has already been working on a AUV after it received almost a million dollars to do so. Robotics is more
representative of Kraken’s ambition than just making sonars. Of course, with Kraken being a public
company, there’s also a stock price incentive to spreading ambitious news.
18
“Kraken Sonar Inc. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: PNG) (OTCQB:
KRKNF) is pleased to announce that it has changed its name from Kraken
Sonar Inc. to Kraken Robotics Inc. and that effective Friday, September
22, 2017, it will begin trading under its new name. The Company's stock
symbols will remain the same: TSX-V: PNG and OTCQB: KRKNF. The
Company's Canadian operating subsidiary, Kraken Sonar Systems Inc.
("KSSI") has been renamed Kraken Robotics Systems Inc. ("KRSI").
Karl Kenny, Kraken President and CEO said, "Our new name reflects the Company's broader commitment and
expertise in driving the innovations needed to shape the future of unmanned maritime systems. We expect that
the UMS market will soon evolve from research, develop and testing programs into significantly larger
procurement opportunities for Kraken."”

19
US Navy awards $85M for building extra large UUV
UVSC Insight:
This is a large win for Boeing and Lockheed especially. Boeing was well-positioned with its large AUV. It is
surprising Battelle did not get selected. However, the prime contractors will hire a number of
sub-contracting companies to assist with the work.
19
“Lockheed Martin Corp., Rotary and Mission Systems, Riviera Beach,
Florida, is being awarded a $43,177,098 cost-plus-incentive-fee
contract for design efforts of the Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea
Vehicle system and delivery of a technical data package.
The Boeing Co., Huntington Beach, California, is being awarded a
$42,273,919 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for design efforts of the
Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle system and delivery of a
technical data package. This award represents Phase I of a competitive
two-phased acquisition approach.
This award represents Phase I of a competitive two-phased acquisition
approach.”
Government Programs & Calls for Bids

20
US Navy gets a 2nd hull for ACTUV program
“The U.S. Navy is preparing to take full control of the Anti-Submarine
Warfare (ASW) Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program
and procure a second craft.
The prototype submarine tracking vessel was ordered in 2012 by the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
In a presentation at DSEI on Thursday, Timothy Barton, the maritime
chief engineer at prime contractor Leidos, said the innovative 132ft
platform is now being transitioned from DARPA to the ONR for a
two-year trial program.
UVSC Insight:
This is yet more proof this project was very well managed by its program manager. For a project to be
transitioned out of DARPA is very good news, and even better with more units to be manufactured. $25M is
actually not expensive for a ship this size with such disruptive technology and operation concepts.
20
“We’re about to build a second hull and maybe a third”, he added. Although negotiations between Leidos
and the ONR are not yet finalized, Barton said the second craft will be constructed at an as yet unidentified
facility in Mississippi at a cost of around $25 million.”

21
US Navy buys for $27M worth of Hydroid technical services and upgrades
“Hydroid Inc. has been awarded a $27.3 million contract modification
for engineering and technical services for product improvements to the
Mk18 series of unmanned underwater vehicles, the Department of
Defense announced on Thursday.
The modification provides for the development, testing, and eventual
installation of the upgrade to the Mk 18. The work will be conducted in
Pocasset, Mass., with a projected completion date of November 2018
and no additional funding at this time.”
UVSC Insight:
Once a technology/product makes it into the fleet, you can expect large orders to be placed continuously
for many years.
21

22
Royal Navy seeks 'transformative' technologies
“Jones, Adm Philip Jones, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, who
delivered a keynote speech at DSEI on 12 September, said the biggest
risk to the Royal Navy is to ‘carry on as we are’ and risk ‘falling even
further behind’.
“We will explore and exploit remote and autonomous off-board
modular systems to augment and maximise the utility of our finite
numbers of ships.”
The navy needs to be ‘even faster and more agile’ in how it exploits
technology advancements if it is to keep up with the ‘relentless’ pace
of development, Jones explained.”
UVSC Insight:
The UK continues its desire to lead the world in development and use of autonomous marine technology. It
is difficult when competing with the very large US naval budget. Cooperation between the countries is
frequent, however, though not at R&D level.
22

23
AUVs, subs, UAVs, ships, USVs all communicating: vendors’ concept video
“Hydroid, Inc. teamed with L3 Aerospace Systems,
Sparton Corporation and AeroVironment, Inc. to
successfully demonstrate the latest unmanned
underwater vehicle (UUV) capabilities, including the
launch of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), at ANTX in
Newport, RI last month.
ANTX is an advanced naval technology exercise that
features live demonstrations, above and below water, of
the latest technology capabilities.”
UVSC Insight:
The ongoing development of collaborative air-sea technology is ongoing. Bridging these two domains is
highly strategic and provides new capabilities for information warfare.
23

24
US Navy announced Overlord USV program
“The Overlord Program will develop and mature reliable USV autonomy within an
approximate three-year timeframe with the end goal of vehicle(s) capable of sustaining
autonomous operations at sea for a 90-day period without any embarked crew, and will
involve integration and test of payloads for Electronic Warfare (EW), Anti-Surface Warfare
(ASuW), and/or Strike Warfare (STW). The prototyping effort will include provisions for a
small crew (8-12 people) necessary to test and evaluate reliability and autonomy. The
vehicle(s) will be converted for unmanned operation, and be capable of operating in an
unmanned mode, but retain an (optional) crew for safety and evaluation.
An Industry Day will be held on 10 October 2017 from 0900 to 1700 EST at Washington
Headquarters Services in Crystal City, VA.”
UVSC Insight:
This is a new major USV program that has a hybrid ‘manned-unmanned’ component. Some companies have
developed similar prototypes in the past.
24

25
US Navy open bid for one 7.5” UUV
“Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division (NSWCCD)
intends to award a firm fixed price (FFP) purchase order using
Simplified Acquisition Procedures for one Unmanned Underwater
Vehicle (UUV), one reusable shipping/storage case, two field spares
kit, one operations spares kit, and one one-day training course, in
accordance with the specifications provided herein. This solicitation
will be competed on a full and open basis.”
UVSC Insight:
The response date of October 4th 2017 has been set.
25

“The underwater battle space is a hugely challenging
environment and it's predicted to remain so for a long time yet,"
says Peter Pipkin, the Royal Navy's fleet robotics officer. He
continues to say the vehicles used in the future will be more
autonomous and make use of other technologies still in
development.
"Using a family of vehicles, or a swarm of unmanned underwater
vehicles, can extend that communications range and create
networks that form themselves."”
26
UK Royal Navy shows far-thinking UUV concepts
UVSC Insight:
Unfortunately very little data gets transmitted underwater, which is why leveraging ‘swarms’ could to some
extent get around the problem of covering large areas - at the same time making the information harder to
impede since it would be gathered and distributed among many units.
26

“China's first unmanned surface vehicle
contest started in Shanghai on Tuesday,
attracting seven teams from research
institutes across the country.
The final will be in Beijing.”
27
China’s USV contest starts in Shanghai
UVSC Insight:
China missed the unmanned aerial technology wave from a defense perspective (it clearly dominates the
consumer and prosumer aerial drone sector), but I believe China will dominate the small USV market.
27

“April 13, 2017: The RDC is currently evaluating unmanned technologies both for
their application to Arctic missions and their application to the Coast Guard’s 10
other statutory missions. This acquisition will allow the RDC to conduct testing on
the operations and capabilities of UUVs in an Arctic environment. The goal of this
acquisition will be for at least one but up to three vehicles capable of meeting the
required specifications.
July 12: Riptide Autonomous Solutions $69k
July 18: General Dynamics $29k”
28
Coast Guard R&D buy micro AUV
UVSC Insight:
The US Coast Guard has a very small budget for UxVs in general, and has made little progress considering
the value unmanned vehicles could bring in terms of search and rescue, illicit trafficking, and border
monitoring.
28

“The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service
(NOS), Office of Coast Survey (OCS), Navigation Services Division, has a requirement
for an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) for hydrographic survey and emergency
response work.
o Size – Maximum vehicle length of 6.5 feet, maximum vehicle width of 3.0 feet.
o Weight – Maximum vehicle weight of 150 lbs. including sensor and battery
payloads, not including shipping case.
o Speed – Vehicle capable of transit speed of 8 knots. Typical survey speeds shall be
2-4 knots.
o Endurance – Capable of 8 hours of endurance with all hydrographic sensors
collecting data at 2-knot survey speed”
29
NOAA request to purchase a small USV
UVSC Insight:
With a response date only four days after the solicitation, you can imagine the vendor was already aware of
it. It is also likely the solicitation was written with this very specific model/vendor in mind.
29

30
US Naval Research Laboratory buys Riptide micro-UUV
UVSC Insight:
This is a good sale for Riptide, a new AUV company offering low cost and very small AUVs.
30

31
US Naval Research Laboratory commissions University to next gen UUV
UVSC Insight:
Virginia Tech has been developing AUV technology for a while, and is really good at it. You can find some
projects at: http://www.ascl.ece.vt.edu/robots2.html
31
“The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) intends to award a sole
source purchase order to Virginia Tech College of Engineering of
Blacksburg, VA to furnish: Engineering Services: Novel Propulsive
Technology for Next Generation Unmanned Underwater Vehicles.
...for purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold
of $150,000.”

“The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded BAE
Systems a $4.6 million contract for an unmanned underwater vehicle that
would help U.S. Navy submarines detect adversary subs while minimizing
their own risk of being detected.
Whereas surface ships conducting anti-submarine warfare can use a
combination of active and passive sensors, submarines use passive
detection systems to listen to their surroundings without putting out any
pings, to maintain their own stealth. According to a Broad Agency
32
BAE receives $4.6M for UUV program
UVSC Insight:
A nice DARPA contract for which very little information is available due to the secret nature of underwater
warfare.
32
Announcement released last year at the start of DARPA’s Mobile Offboard Clandestine Communications and
Approach (MOCCA) program, MOCCA would leverage the benefits of active sonar systems while protecting the
submarine’s location, since the pings would be coming from a UUV at some unknown distance from the
submarine.”

“SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS OF AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLE:
Autonomous underwater vehicle including the following features
AUV with 100m depth rating of weight less than 85 lbs deployable by two
people”
33
US Geological survey RFP for AUV
UVSC Insight:
By coincidence, this solicitation has the identical post and close dates as
the NOAA solicitation for a USV on page 29.
With a response date only four days after the solicitation, you can
imagine the vendor was already aware of it. It is also likely the
solicitation was written with this very specific model/vendor in mind.
33

“On Thursday 10th August, Ocius Technology and Thales Australia
successfully demonstrated the solar, wind and wave powered
prototype Bluebottle un-manned surface vessel called “Bruce” in
combination with a Thales thin line array on 60m of cable off the
coast of NSW.”
34
Ocius and Thales ASWUSV Demonstration
UVSC Insight:
It requires a lot of power to tow submarine-detection sonar, which the Bruce USV can deliver.
34

“Marine robots will be able to set up surveillance networks in
designated areas of the Arctic, Head of the Russian Defense
Ministry’s Robotics Main Research and Testing Center Sergei
Popov told TASS on Thursday.
"Devices of long-term stay, such as gliders of various types,
realize themselves most fully in the tasks of long-term
monitoring, a long transition to the specified point (for military
purposes - with maximum secrecy) and the creation of a
temporary distributed observation network in the specified
area," he said.”
35
Russia’s control of the Arctic with UUV
UVSC Insight:
The Arctic has always been strategic from a naval perspective and AUV are ideally suited to operate
stealthily under the ice at a very low cost.
35

“Proteus, a dual-mode undersea vehicle developed by HII’s
Technical Solutions division (Undersea Solutions Group) and
Battelle, successfully completed autonomous contested
battlespace missions during the 2017 Advanced Naval
Technology Exercise (ANTX) at the Naval Surface Warfare Center
(Panama City Division).”
During ANTX, the Naval Surface Warfare Center, in cooperation
with HII, Battelle, Northrop Grumman and Riptide Autonomous
Solutions, conducted aerial, surface and underwater vehicle
advance mission capability demonstrations through relevant
operational scenarios while communicating real-time mission
performance to remote operations headquarters.”
36
Advanced Naval Technology Exercise shows system of UUVs
UVSC Insight:
Naval exercises are great demonstrations and force vendors to work together. However these exercises and
demonstrations demand a lot of time and resources of the vendors.
36

37
Israeli Forces to be AUVs
“Other notable technologies unveiled by ADW include three new unmanned
aerial vehicles—one equipped with a “smart rifle”—and two unmanned
undersea vehicles. The unmanned submarines will be available in large and
small models, with the smaller version developed with assistance from
Bar-Ilan University.”
UVSC Insight:
Israeli aerial drone technology is the world’s best. However unmanned underwater has been seriously
lacking so I will be following these developments.
37

38
US Navy exercise with unmanned air and marine at once
“The power of a Navy strike group’s interoperability with unmanned
vehicles, surface and air assets, guns, missiles, and combat systems was
proven at the 2017 USS Dahlgren demonstration, Sept. 13-14.
ANTX featured virtual and hardware representations of combat
systems on the Eisenhower strike group that comprised USS Gridley
(DDG 101), USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), USS Milwaukee (LCS 5), USS
Freedom (LCS 1), and USS Mason (DDG 87) during live fire destruction
of surface threats. Throughout the event, an MH60R helicopter, an
MQ-8B Fire Scout
UVSC Insight:
It is obvious from these ANTX exercises that the air-marine cross domain is key to military dominance.
38
unmanned autonomous helicopter, a Scan Eagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and an unmanned surface
vessel (USV) identified and tracked threats over-the-horizon. At one point, an autonomous USV – equipped
with an inert front-end portion of a Longbow Hellfire missile – staged simulated Longbow Hellfire salvos.”

39
China’s UUV fleet monitors the South China Sea
“The world's second-largest economy has been deploying
disruptive technology that could strengthen its territorial
ambitions in the South China Sea.
Late last month, Beijing dropped a dozen underwater drones,
also known as unmanned underwater vehicles, in an
unspecified location in the international waterway to carry
out "scientific observations," state-run media outlet Xinhua
reported.
UVSC Insight:
A dozen gliders is a large fleet by any standard, and even more when they are dispatched together. China is
investing all the technology it can to dominate Asian waters.
39
The torpedo-shaped vehicles — called Haiyi, or sea wings in Mandarin — will remain underwater for a
month, according to reports.”

40
Russia set to develop the unmanned surface vessels simulation platform
“Russian developers have launched the project of a unique
technological platform that will allow testing of unmanned
surface vessels navigation in virtual environment.
The working group MariNet is devoted to the creation in
Russia of unmanned surface marine vessels and related
services. The federal government has awarded financial
support through the National Technological Initiative to
several projects that are related to autonomous / unmanned
surface marine vessels navigation technology and draft
amendments are being prepared to the Russian and
international legislation framework.”
UVSC Insight:
“The project is the culmination of work overseen by the OJSC Scientific Production Association to deploy
‘Android Techniques’ to provide the interaction of underwater, surface and air unmanned vehicles.”
https://www.transtec-neva.com/maritime-robot-makes-neva-debut/
40

41
US Navy puts in another $9.7M to save Knifefish AUV program
“The Navy has not stopped work on the unmanned undersea
vehicle Knifefish because Congress approved $9.7 million in
reprogramming funds this fiscal year to continue program
integration and testing efforts.
The funds were required to support milestone C and will
allow for completing system contractor trials, factory
acceptance testing and initial Littoral Combat Ship
integrations, Naval Sea Systems Command spokeswoman
Colleen O'Rourke wrote in an Aug. 16 statement to Inside the
Navy.“
UVSC Insight:
Previous UMS quarterly reports have covered this program’s lack of performance, which put it in jeopardy
unless more money was invested.
41

42
Knifefish gets $20M over 2 years
“The Naval Sea Systems Command intends to award a contract
extension and ceiling increase, on a sole source basis, to General
Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS), Inc., in accordance with FAR
6.302-1, for Engineering Support Services during the
Pre-planned Product Improvement (P3I) phase, to include the
repricing of Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) units under the
Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Undersea Vehicles
(SMCM UUV) Knifefish contract, N61331-11-C-0017. This
extension is for a 24 month period and estimated at $19.6M.
Anticipated award date is 29 September 2017.”
UVSC Insight:
As a follow-up to the congressional approval, General Dynamics get an influx of money. Notice the repricing
of low-rate initial production units.
42

43
NAVSEA to spends hundred of millions on UUV “family”
“The purpose of this Pre-Solicitation Notice is to is to provide
notice to prospective offerors that the Naval Undersea Warfare
Center, Division Newport, RI (NUWCDIVNPT) intends to award
Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Multiple Award
Contract (s) (MACs) to enable the Government to procure
hardware, materials, and supplies, as well as services used to
develop, build, fabricate, integrate, evaluate and support the
Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) Family of Systems (FoS).
The Government may exercise an optional ordering period which
will be in effect from (60) months after date of award through 108
months after date of award.”
UVSC Insight:
This is a major budget for a program that will last for 5 to 9 years. Those in the US AUV business should get a
piece of the action. We will be following this contract closely.
43

New Products & Technical Development
44
Kongsberg to develop USV with partner
“Norsafe has been working alongside Kongsberg to develop
an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) to act as a combined
autonomous and data collection platform with different
sensors.
The USV has been designed for simple transportation either
by road trailer or containerised on deck.
‘We are delighted that Kongsberg approached us to take
part in this joint initiative. Unmanned vessels are certainly
useful in certain circumstances, especially in dangerous
situations where the risk to human life is great.” said Dag
UVSC Insight:
What this news really means is there will be a forthcoming Kongsberg USV.
44
Songedal, CEO for Norsafe. “We supply the military market with a range of patrol and assistance boats and
used this experience to help develop and design the USV together with Kongsberg,’”

45
Sea-Kit: mother USV for large AUVs
“Sea-Kit is a USV (Unmanned Surface Vessel) that can
carry a deployable and retrievable payload of up to 2.5
tons. It is based on the AUV-USV concept, which could
lead to more efficient, safer and cost-effective seafloor
mapping operations, as well as providing a platform for
numerous applications in a wide range of maritime
sectors.
It is the first truly Long-Range, Long-Endurance, Ocean
capable Unmanned Autonomous Vessel with a range of
over 10,000 nautical miles and an endurance that can
be measured in months rather than days.”
UVSC Insight:
This is a new, ultra long, larger size endurance USV that will most likely be at least partly diesel powered.
Recovering drones from ships is very difficult and storing drones for later deployments will involve
mechanical actuators. I personally think this concept will not be a working solution for at least five years.
45

46
Liquid Robotics Announces Next Generation of the Wave Glider
● Performance in high sea states (sea state 6 and
greater)
● Advanced navigation in high latitudes (ex: Arctic
and Antarctica)
● Supports 30% heavier payloads to enable new
sensors and missions
● 15% greater power collection and 40% more
battery storage extends operational range and
support for larger sensor payloads
● Anti-biofouling copper coating improves system
performance and simplifies maintenance
UVSC Insight:
This is a nice improvement in specs for the WaveGlider. Liquid Robotics has been helping the entire USV
‘sector’ by putting so much money into marketing its USV solution. Boeing acquired the company but it is
still operating independently. Boeing also acquired a drone company, Insitu, that also operates fairly
independently from them.
46

47
A true hybrid AUV/ROV from Strategic Robotic Systems
“Strategic Robotic Systems (SRS) presented its Fusion hybrid
unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) system at DSEI 2017.
In the military sphere the Fusion system has applications in
mine countermeasures, port and harbour security, and ship
inspection tasks, and is being marketed as a simple,
cost-effective, and efficient solution by combining three
commonly used functions – autonomous underwater vehicle
(AUV), remotely operated vehicle (ROV), and diver propulsion
and navigation into a single system.”
UVSC Insight:
This is one new hybrid ROV-AUV coming to market. It is interesting that it also provides help with diver
propulsion. New entrants are also introducing these ROV-AUV hybrid models, since few AUV and ROV
companies are offering them.
47

48
Rolls-Royce reveals plans for autonomous naval vessel
“Rolls-Royce has revealed plans for an autonomous, single
role, naval vessel with a range of 3500 nautical miles.
The vessel concept is capable of operating beyond the
horizon for over 100 days, will displace 700 tonnes and
reach speeds above 25 knots. The 60m long vessel is
designed to perform a range of single role missions, for
example, patrol & surveillance, mine detection or fleet
screening.”
UVSC Insight:
“Autonomous shipping is the way forward in the maritime industry with Rolls-Royce leading the way in its
development”, said Rolls Royce in a report here. By stating its intent very publicly, Rolls Royce has been
bold in positioning itself as a leader in autonomous large vessels. In the marine sector, Rolls Royce makes
engines. This is another case where a component manufacturer provides a product/solution as a way to
position itself as a leader in a new space.
48

49
Sea Machines launches its commercial USV
“Sea Machines Robotics today announced the release of the company’s
first product, an Autonomous Control System for commercial marine
vessels, the Sea Machines 300. The Sea Machines 300 is the world’s first
industrial-grade control system that is standardized for work boats. The
technology provides an immediate upgrade in vessel operations by
enabling remote and autonomous control of conventional boats.
The release of the product follows 18 months of inshore and offshore
testing activities. Additionally, the Sea Machines system has been
deployed by pilot customers using this technology to move their
conventional operations into the 21st century of advanced control. Retail
price of the Sea Machines 300 system is $98,500 and is available for order.
Sea Machines Robotics, founded in Boston in 2014, is a growing
venture-backed company that is fully focused on 21st century innovation
for the marine and maritime sectors.”
UVSC Insight:
The retrofit kit is a good move to enable boats to be autonomous. The cost of $100k seems reasonable
considering the technology involved, although it is unclear if this includes labor for installation. The
company recently raised $1.5M.
49

50
Kronstadt USV
“The Kronstadt Group successfully held test trials of an
unmanned boat in the water range in Kurortny district of St.
Petersburg, the press service of the company said. The
robotized boat is designated for operations close to the
coastline and is a super-small self-propelled catamaran with
an electric power plant and autonomous computer system,
the Kronstadt said.”
UVSC Insight:
Konstadt is Russian and primarily serves the energy sector and aquaculture. It is great to see an end-user
company test USV, instead of technology manufacturers. This shows that USVs have reached a wider
adoption, due to the value they provide to end-users.
50

51
Indra demonstrates prototype USV
“Indra conducted a first public sea trial demonstrating the
capabilities of its new prototype unmanned surface vessel
(USV) off northwest Spain on 17 September.
The vessel is targeted to perform a variety of key naval tasks,
including search and rescue and maritime surveillance.
The USV has an overall length of 7.3 m and a 2.6 m beam, is
powered by a waterjet, and has a top speed of 35 kt.
Indra will focus on the integration of the underwater vehicle,
and will evaluate the possibility of integrating a captive
multicopter with the USV that will fly over the vessel to
expand its range of vision and act as a communications
repeater.”
UVSC Insight:
I remember talking to Indra about their USV in 2010. I think this time they will commit to a USV. However
they have a lofty goals to integrate a UUV and UAV, something only done in military R&D so far.
51

52
SeaFly: new Chinese USV shipping end of year
“Beijing Sifang Automation (Sifang) – a research and
manufacturing company specialising in power automation
and generation, as well as transportation systems – plans
to roll out a production-ready model of its SeaFly
intelligent unmanned surface vehicle (USV) by the end of
2017.
The Seafly intelligent USV is an internally funded
development that began in 2014, with the first prototype,
SeaFly-01, successfully completing initial trials on Nanhu
Lake in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on 27 October
2016.”
UVSC Insight:
A video is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzt65wPvNU0
For what appears to be a small vessel, it has a considerable range of 400 Km.
52

53
Amphibious AUV gets ONR funding
“Pliant Energy's agile amphibious
swimmer was revealed to the
world at the 2017 Naval Future
Force S&T Expo.”
UVSC Insight:
The design is unique, and works well as seen in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=459ZREs-ZcE
I published a previous market analysis covering amphibian UUVs, something that has been purely academic
or research-based. This design is unique, although I foresee this vehicle staying at a research/ONR level
forever.
53

54
Russian USV tested around island
“The unmanned surface vehicle Pernov-A has
completed its maiden test voyage around Russkiy
Island, Rosmorrechflot said on Tuesday.
The sea test voyage lasted more than 12 hours and
this small unmanned surface vehicle covered a
distance of 35 km. The project developers during the
sea trials executed different navigation and research
tasks.”
UVSC Insight:
This USV is small and low profile. It is unclear what the propulsion power source is, as solar would not be
enough to make it viable as a product.
54

55
Oceanalpha develops range of USVs
“Oceanalpha is a professional company focusing on USV(Unmanned Surface Vessels) development and
offering world-leading USV solutions for water environment sampling & monitoring, hydrographic survey,
oceanographic survey, nuclear radiation monitoring and water surface cleaning, etc. With advanced
intelligent technology and deep understanding of user working environment, Oceanalpha autonomous boat
have already served clients from industrial company, government office, research institute and universities in
world-wide.”
UVSC Insight:
Oceanalpha has developed and marketed an entire family of USV. Software, reliability, and data accuracy
remain benchmarked against existing industrial USVs, but I have a strong feeling that Oceanalpha (covered
in the last market report for their New York City initiative) will be a major player in USVs for industrial and
public use.
55

56
New Chinese Armed USV
“China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)
outlined its plans for a new family of unmanned surface vessels
(USVs) at the 2017 International Ocean Science and Technology
(OST) exhibition in Qingdao.
The B850 is typically outfitted with a forward-mounted remote
weapon system armed with a 7.62 mm or 12.7 mm machine gun,
although it can also be armed with anti-frogmen rockets for facility
or force protection operations. An eight-tube launcher system was
shown on the display model at OST 2017.”
UVSC Insight:
Although this is simply a model, a family of military USV is not small feat. Developing and operating armed
USV is extremely sensitive and difficult. Nonetheless the message is clear: China will arm USV to control its
territory.
56

57
MSubs developing a USV for Kongsberg, Bourbon’s plan to use the USV
“Offshore services giant Bourbon has entered into a Memorandum
of Understanding to support Automated Ships Ltd. in
commissioning the world's first unmanned and fully-automated
vessel for offshore operations, Hrönn, in collaboration with the
project's primary technology partner, Kongsberg.
Bourbon will leverage its experience in building and operating a
standardized fleet to provide detailed input to the development
and design of the Hrönn project.
UVSC Insight:
Traditional boat builders and operators are looking for technology partners since autonomy is not within
their technical capabilities. MSubs is also involved in the development of the Mayflower USV.
57
In the second phase of the project, Bourbon and Autmated Ships will join forces to look for subsidies to
finance the actual construction of the prototype vessel.
Automated Ships Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of M Subs Ltd., a U.K. company that designs, constructs
and delivers prototype, manned and unmanned underwater vehicles.”

Publications (click for links)
58
● Global Marine Technology Trends 2030
Report written by Lloyd’s Register, University of Southampton, QinetiQ, examining how technology
trends will impact the regulatory and social aspects of the shipping industry, free
“Networks of autonomous surface and underwater vessels are set to radically change the nature of unmanned
operations”, said Tim Kent, Technical Director, Marine and Offshore at Lloyd’s.
● Future of the Sea: Trends in the Transport of Goods by Sea
UK Government for Science, free
“Such smart shipping comprises inter alia autonomous and connected ships with better performance and lower
costs via deployment of various sensors and data analytics.”
● The Ships that Could Change the Seas Forever
BBC, free
“Last month in San Diego, California, an engineer sat down at his computer and gripped a joystick on the desk
in front of him. He wasn’t playing a video game – he was piloting a massive cargo ship thousands of miles
away off the coast of Scotland.”
● Unmanned Systems Buyers Guide
Ocean News & Technology, free
“The mid-year update is available and includes detailed, comparative product information for ROVs, AUVs,
USVs, and Towables, as well as corresponding manufacturer and operator contact listings. This
comprehensive guide includes vehicle information from 86 manufacturers and represents the “Who’s Who” of
unmanned underwater vehicles”

Events
59
● 3rd Unmanned Maritime Systems, Nov 1-2 2017, Washington DC
● Maritime Information Warfare 2017, Dec 6-7 2017, London
● Undersea Defense and Technology Asia, Jan 30-31 2018, Singapore
● The Defense Show, February 6-8 2018, Washington DC
Page 58 of Ocean News has a great map of marine events.

Purchases & Projects
60
QinetiQ Target Systems sells 40 unmanned boats to Canadian Navy
“QinetiQ Target Systems has received a new order from the Royal
Canadian Navy (RCN) to deliver more than 40 units of
Hammerhead unmanned surface vehicle (USV) targets and
several payloads.
The latest C$4.7m ($3.86m) order. The five-year contract was
originally awarded in May last year and includes the supply of
surface and aerial target systems. Hammerhead targets are
equipped with a large variety of threat-emulating payloads and
allow ship operators to train against piracy threats by simulating
fast inshore attack craft.
UVSC Insight:
Meggitt Target Systems was sold to QinetiQ last December. Quick math makes it $100,000 for remote
control boats but the actual ‘boat’ price is less since this contract includes payloads, aerial targets, etc. Large
ships can practice shooting at them when they simulate an attack by multiple small vessels.
The targets can be controlled in large swarms in order to adequately replicate a coordinated attack by
multiple naval ships. The current contract brings the total Hammerhead orders across the world to more
than 425.

61
ECA sells USV + MDV to Asian Navy
UVSC Insight:
ECA has continuously provided UUV technology at a much more affordable price than their Northern
European or US counterparts, gaining the company big contracts in the Middle East, Africa, and greater Asia.
“ECA Group has delivered unmanned mine disposal systems to the
navy of an unnamed Asian country.
The naval force is transferring its mine countermeasure capability
from manned 50m vessels with a crew of 40, to an unmanned system
controlled by three personnel.
The USV will use the K-STER I for inspection and in the event a mine
is detected, launch the K-STER C to conduct the demining mission.”

62
Planet Ocean and ASV showcase USV-AUV-UAV demonstration
UVSC Insight:
This government project has been great for British UMV companies. Now that USVs work, AUVs work, and
UAVs work, it’s a matter of making them work together.
“Planet Ocean and ASV recently demonstrated autonomous launch and
recovery of multiple AUVs from an ASV as the closing part of their
Innovate UK & Dstl funded project.
The demonstration, in front of invited guests from the project partners,
Planet Ocean, National Oceanography Centre, ASV Ltd, University of
Southampton and funders Innovate UK and Dstl took place in July in the
Solent.
The day marked the final activity of the two-year Innovate UK project,
during which two AUVs were developed along with the launch and
recovery systems which can be installed on almost any floating asset. The
technology has also contributed to a University of Southampton project
which has been air launching ecoSUB-µ AUVs from their SPOTTER
Unmanned Air Vehicle.”

63
CSA and Okeanus Arrange Survey Spread for Harvey Aftermath
UVSC Insight:
CSA has been been an early adopter of AUVs and USVs, working with small technologies companies that can
deliver. It is great to hear of real commercial projects done using UMVs.
“CSA Ocean Sciences (CSA) and Okeanus Science & Technology are
working together to stage a full-range of specialized survey and
monitoring equipment in Louisiana to deploy in the immediate
aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
The setup should help evaluate the storm’s impact on coast lines,
waterways, bayous, ship channels and terminals, marine
infrastructure, and oil and gas related facilities located on or near
the water.”

64
Saudi Aramco Acquires Teledyne Gavia AUV
UVSC Insight:
Saudia Aramco, like many others, will greatly value what AUVs deliver. Most often these surveys have been
performed by service contractors. The Gavia system has already been used oil & gas customers. These AUVs
sales to end-user O&G users are, however, fairly rare.
“Teledyne Gavia announces the acquisition of a Gavia Offshore
Surveyor AUV system to the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi
Aramco). The Gavia AUV system is expected to enhance Saudi
Aramco's agility in meeting high demands for hydrographic survey
services through the company's in-house survey operations. The
Gavia system will be utilized predominantly for debris survey and
pipeline inspection in the Arabian Gulf, with a potential service
extension for other type of surveys in water depths up to 1000m in
the Red Sea region.”

65
ECA sells for €4M-€8M worth of Mine Disposal Vehicles
UVSC Insight:
The PAP, a very early Mine Disposal System, was the pioneer in its field…40 years ago!
This is a good contract for ECA, but as of today no new customer would purchase the PAP, since there are
better systems out there. However for customers already used to operating it (with people trained on it and
an infrastructure in place), it is easier to keep using the PAP. There is a high cost for any military to switch
equipment, which is why we keep seeing large contracts awarded to old systems.
“The amount of this contract has been depending on utilization
frequency but will be over 4M€ and 8 M€ maximum. In 1977, ECA
Group delivered the very first mine disposal vehicles PAP to the
French Navy which should remain in service till 2025.”

66
Start-up 1: BIKI (China) raises $500k from crowd-funding
UVSC Insight:
A very promising UUV. The company already raised money from pre-orders on Kickstarter and is now doing
more pre-orders on IndieGogo here. It seems that $1.7M were raised for Series A, as noted here.
The website shows more products (shown above middle and at right), and the company is well staffed. I
predict the BIKI being the DJI Phantom of underwater drones. Knowing the aerial drone sector extremely
well, I am excited to see how this company manages itself to meet success.
“The most powerful, ecological and portable wireless underwater drone. Throw it! Capture the most
fantastic moments.”

67
Start-up 2: Stromkind (Austria)
UVSC Insight:
Although interesting in design, I do not see a large differentiation from current USV. The propulsion system
seems to be the only interesting thing here.
“Stromkind has developed the award winning KAT300, an autonomous
maritime drone. The KAT is a long range unmanned vehicle that can
among other things transport cargo, remove algae/waste or harvest
data. It is powered by the patented Sylent propulsion system (previously
known as Podilabs), a highly efficient and robust electrical jet engine.”

68
Start-up 3: Hydroswarm (Boston)
UVSC Insight:
Not much information could be found on this this purchase. Marine big data is something a few USV
manufacturers are addressing. It is much more difficult to address since underwater data is mostly stored on
the vehicle’s hard drive with few open protocols. Keep in mind most AUVs out there are for defense or Oil &
Gas use (to find oil fields!) Both groups are very closed when it comes to sharing information and data.
“We build intelligent underwaters drone platforms for maritime big data”

“The co-creation company leading the One Sea – Autonomous
Maritime Ecosystem, DIMECC, has opened the world's first test
area for autonomous maritime traffic, vessels and technologies
on the west coast of Finland.
ABB, Cargotec, Ericsson, Meyer Turku, Rolls-Royce, Tieto and
Wärtsilä are the founding members of One Sea.”
The space will be known as the ‘Jaakonmeri Test Area’ and will
be managed and controlled by DIMECC.
Companies, research institutes and other organisations seeking
to test autonomous maritime capabilities will also be permitted
to use the area, which was provided by the Centre for Economic
Development, Transport and the Environment of Southwest
Finland.”
69
New autonomous maritime test area in Finland
UVSC Insight:
This is a great new initiative with big names as founding members. The Nordic countries are definitely
leading the world when it comes to autonomous sea cargo transportation.

“ASV Global is pleased to announce the initiation of phase 2 of a
multi-phased project with Shell. The aim of the project is to
develop an unmanned seismic energy source vessel as part of
their Rapid Autonomous Marine 4D (RAM4D) source concept.
Upcoming trials for the project will include an extended at sea
endurance test followed by full operational testing near ASV
Global’s facilities in Broussard, LA. Success of this phase 2 effort
will eventually lead to an unmanned offshore seismic survey near
the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
70
ASV partners with Shell for Development of USV
UVSC Insight:
Performing seismic surveys requires lots of time and power and to operate far from the coast in deep
waters. Oil & Gas companies are looking for ways to reduce costs and improve their ability to find good
fields.
The Autonomous Surface Vessel for this work, the ‘C-Worker 12P’ prototype is one of ASV Global’s largest
unmanned vessels fitted to date: measuring just over 12 meters.”

“The U.S. Office of Naval Research has awarded a five-year,
$900,000 research grant to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University to develop advanced communication, perception and
energy systems for unmanned surface vessels (USVs).
Developing stealthier ways for unmanned vessels on the ocean’s
surface to communicate with unmanned underwater vehicles
such as submarines will be one focus of the research initiative.
Testing and evaluation will leverage Embry-Riddle’s Minion
research platform – a 16-foot autonomous research vessel
equipped with high-performance computing, an autonomous
sensor suite, two brushless thrusters and substantial battery
capacity.”
71
Embry Riddle University to develop USV on a $900k grant
UVSC Insight:
Embry Riddle has been a leading aerial drone university and this $1M grant will further its USV experience to
potentially lead the sector from a scientific perspective.

“BAE Systems has received a potential $598,000 grant from
the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership to design and develop
an unmanned maritime systems testing service in the U.K.
BAE said Sunday it will collaborate with Blue Bear Systems
Research, ASV Global, SeeByte, Marine Electronic Systems and
the University of Southampton on the new service that will be
launched later this year.”
72
BAE develops UMS testing service
UVSC Insight:
The UK ecosystem with its impetus on developing unmanned maritime systems should really pay dividends
in the long-term. Collaboration of those companies is a very good thing, especially when some of them are
defense contractors.

“July 20 2017: The Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) intends to negotiate a one-time sole source
fixed price contract with Ocean Server, 151 Martine
Street, Fall River, MA 02723, for the purpose of
procuring one (1) IVER3 Autonomous Underwater
Vehicle
Award was made to OceanServer on Aug 3 2017:
$252,079.47”
73
OceanServer sells to FBI
UVSC Insight:
The Iver3 has been achieving success with public safety representatives, such as state police for investigative
purposes.

74
Kraken sells sonars for $2.5M to Ocean Infinity + 1.6M to undisclosed cust
UVSC Insight:
Sonars are expensive, but Kraken sonars are much more affordable than the competition. The Hugin are
top-rated AUVs that traditionally would be outfitted with much more expensive sonars. Each SAS sonar
would be about $300k.
“Kraken Sonar Inc., a marine technology company dedicated to the
production and sale of software-centric sensors and underwater robotic
systems, announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary Kraken”
Sonar Systems Inc. has been awarded a contract valued at
approximately C$3,000,000 by Ocean Infinity. Kraken will supply and
integrate its AquaPix® (Miniature Interferometric Synthetic Aperture
Sonar and Real-Time SAS Signal Processor) solution onboard eight of
Ocean Infinity's HUGIN Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV).
Delivery of the systems is planned to commence during the fourth
quarter of 2017.”

75
Robosub 2017 contest
UVSC Insight:
Cornell University won first place. These student competitions offer great experiences for students. This is a
long term investment in the technology and its users.
“Student-designed-and-built autonomous robotic submarines
must complete a difficult series of visual- and acoustic-based
tasks in this international competition. These tasks simulate the
work required of robotic subs in many facets of underwater
activity.
RoboSub is geared toward students at the collegiate level, simply
based on the level of difficulty, but is open to students of any
age. Your team will be required to design and build a vehicle
from scratch, write a technical paper, make a presentation
before a panel of judges, create a short video, and develop a
website that documents your progress.
2018 International RoboSub Competition: July 30 - August 5, 2018. SSC Pacific TRANSDEC, San Diego,
California, USA.”

76
UC Davis underwater robot measures Lake Tahoe climate change
UVSC Insight:
Lake Tahoe is the get-away mountain location of San Franciscans who love the clear blue water of its lake. A
few weeks ago I was notified that a USV performed a survey on this lake. It’s good to hear of the use of UMV
close to home.
“UC Davis is using an underwater robot with the hopes of
understanding how climate change is affecting Lake Tahoe.
Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) deployed the
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) earlier this month.
One of the things that's truly unique is the clarity of the water.
Understanding the clarity is what drives a lot of the research
up here,” UC Davis professor and researcher Alex Forrest said.
More commonly known as a glider, the autonomous vehicle
will coast 150 meters under Lake Tahoe’s surface, going
back-and-forth taking measurements.”

77
C-Worker 4 Takes Part in Exploration Survey in the Pacific Ocean
UVSC Insight:
NOAA is using USVs more and more since the technology increasingly enables them to gather ocean data at a
fraction of the cost of traditional methods. With government budgets always squeezed and more work to do
than budgets allow, USV enable them to do more with less.
“Researchers from the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping
Joint Hydrographic Center in New Hampshire have launched a
C-Worker 4 Autonomous Vessel equipped with a multibeam
sonar to map around the NOAA Channel Islands National
Marine Sanctuary. The Center is working in partnership with
the Ocean Exploration Trust and operating from Exploration
Vessel (E/V) Nautilus, a 64-meter research boat.”

78
Autonomous, electric ferry concept by Kongsberg
UVSC Insight:
Vessels are enormous polluters. Electrifying vessels (and airplanes) will happen. Only those with great
concern for the environment and a long-term outlook in business decisions are working on this. Autonomous
navigation on a very strict and repeated path makes complete sense. However, with so many people on
board, you can bet a captain will be present just in case. We’re not there yet.
“KONGSBERG said it has signed a Research & Innovation (R&I)
contract with technology acceleration organization PILOT-E for
the development of zero emission, full-electric, autonomous
ferry concepts. The overall vision for the PILOT-E Autonomous
Ferry concept is to develop a state-of-the-art ferry as an
integrated, zero emission aspect of a total national
transportation plan.”

79
University of purchase Kongsberg Hugin 3000 AUV
UVSC Insight:
This is a large purchase for a university, knowing that the Hugin, even bare bones, costs several million.
“The University Of Gothenburg has chosen Kongsberg Maritime's
state-of-the-art HUGIN Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) to
expand Sweden's capabilities in the field of marine research using
unmanned platforms. The HUGIN, which will be funded by grants
from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and managed by a
project team with representatives from the University of
Gothenburg, Chalmers University of Technology and Stockholm
University, will be recognised as a national asset for marine
research projects around Sweden and further afield.
The University of Gothenburg has chosen a HUGIN configuration
rated to 3000 metres, with a range of up to 300 km. The AUV is
due for delivery in February 2018.”

80
SeaRobotics sells USV
UVSC Insight:
This government is probably in Asia. SeaRobotics has USVs that are proven, work well, and affordable.
“SeaRobotics Corporation (SeaRobotics) has delivered two
complete autonomous 2.5‑m unmanned surface vehicles (USVs)
to a government hydrographic service. These USVs, built by
SeaRobotics, are complete hydrographic systems, including
multibeam echo sounders, support sensors, a cast winch,
deployment carts, and road trailers.”

Executive Insight from UVS Consulting
81
This quarter was the most significant since covering the business of Unmanned Maritime Systems.
On the underwater side, more than $156M was awarded in this quarter alone, most of it coming from the US
Navy. UUVs have become the strategic naval asset. This quarter, Russia indicated using gliders to monitor the
Arctic; China announced having used a fleet of gliders to monitor the ocean; the UK made bold statements that
UUV are the future of the Royal Navy; and the US announced it will seek procurement of a new family of UUVs
with several hundred million dollars to be awarded over the next seven years. Besides naval talk, $2M of AUVs for
non-defense use were spent, and the new wave of UUVs will be coming from China - for prosumers this time. The
UUV landscape is changing and Summer 2017 marks a turning point in UUV history.
On the surface-vehicle side, we are observing even more significant signs of the industry exploding, and much
more commercially than militarily. Indeed, the USV sector ratio of commercial to military is quickly increasing. Just
look at the announcement of Kongsberg and Rolls Royce: each making bold and fast announcement that do not
resemble large global companies. Consider that Kongsberg announced developing two USVs, and Rolls Royce - an
engine and control systems manufacturer - is aiming to build a USV with 3,500 nautical miles’ endurance.
Autonomous cargo vessels will happen, and considering that sea shipping activity is dominated by China, China will
take an important position in autonomous cargo ships. Already a large consortium is formed. Defense-wise, things
are moving fast too, with a very large US Navy program being announced, Indra reviving its USV products with
daring capabilities, and China showing teeth by developing a USV with rockets. Affordability is coming down
quickly, with a $100k retrofit kit to turn a vessel into a USV.
You can find all references mentioned in this executive summary, and more, in the full report along with excepts,
links, images, videos and most importantly UVSC’s professional insight for each one of the 65 market updates (a
record this quarter).

About UVS Consulting
UVS Consulting LLC
Principal consultant: Antoine Martin
San Francisco, California, USA
+1-650-690-2845
Antoine.Martin@UVS-Consulting.com
I look at the unmanned maritime systems industry daily, and have performed
consulting engagements on strategy, business development, and analysis, with
over 30 companies worldwide including companies of all sizes, from start-ups to
large caps. The sectors I cover are oil & gas, defense, and science. I know the
subject of UMS and would be glad to help you. I often work with a network of
experienced consultants and have earned many referrals from leaders and
executives. My work is confidential. The various market reports or articles I
have published are just the tip of the iceberg.
Please email me for your unmanned maritime systems needs.
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Unmanned Maritime & Autonomous Systems - Market Report Q3 2017 (AUV, USV, UUV, ROV, Glider, ASV)

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