Unmanned Systems Technology 015 | Martin UAV V-Bat | William Sachiti | Sonar Systems | USVs | Desert Aircraft DA150 EFI | SeaCat AUV/ROV | Gimbals

47 USVs | Insight is working with the Technical Research Centre of Finland and Tampere University of Technology on remotely controlled and autonomous ships, and the use of artificial intelligence. In Aalesund, in neighbouring Norway, Rolls-Royce is also building a marine fleet management centre to allow remote monitoring, data analysis and optimisation of shipping routes, and management of onboard equipment. The centre will allow the company to extend its concept of ‘Power by the Hour’ that is already used by its aerospace business. Here, instead of selling systems such as turbines, Rolls- Royce uses ‘big data’ to monitor, plan and perform maintenance and repairs on onboard ship equipment. That means the monitoring systems have to be tightly integrated with the control and comms systems, linking to the control centre. Surveying This approach is extended even further for smaller craft for applications such as surveying. The move to RaaS is a major change for suppliers of smaller USV systems. “The general trend among many technology providers is a long-term migration away from selling products to selling services,” says Karl Kenny, CEO of Kraken Sonar. “Instead of selling hardware, pure-play RaaS firms will build, own, operate, maintain and innovate their robotic fleets and provide customers with a recurring service that is far more responsive than capital- intensive purchase and high total costs of ownership. “In our analysis, customers do not want to own and operate their ocean drones – they want to rapidly generate seabed intelligence from the data the platforms acquire. While we expect some customer groups will want to continue to buy [systems], we believe the adoption of RaaS will grow swiftly in the coming years.” For smaller craft, Torqeedo has been using battery systems designed for the BMW i Series electric cars for smaller boats. The battery from the BMW i3 has been adapted to power Torqeedo’s Deep Blue motors up to 160 hp. The prismatic lithium-ion cell design allows efficient cooling, a compact size and an even temperature distribution within the battery, with a rugged structure protecting the cells. By comparison, New Electric in the Netherlands is looking to provide pre- assembled drivetrains that are optimised for boats up to 200 hp with a maximum torque of 500 Nm. The motors are stackable for higher output, and are supported by battery packs of up to 200 kWh, all pre-assembled so they can be retrofitted into an existing craft to replace diesel engines. Rather than using electric motors, Singapore-based USV developer Zycraft saw its longest deployment for its Vigilant 17 m USV, which spent 22 days in June 2017 travelling 1900 nautical miles across the South China Sea using diesel. The USV moved at a speed of 5 knots with occasional bursts of higher speeds, and used just over 6000 litres of diesel, returning to its Singapore home port with 2800 litres remaining. Zycraft uses a strong and lightweight material called Arovex for its hull. Powered by twin Yanmar 480 hp marine diesel engines, the sea trials also tested the robustness of the vessel’s mechanical and electronic systems, which lasted the entire time at sea. Command and control of the Vigilant was carried out using satellite comms from Zycraft’s command centre in Singapore. The USV was run on autopilot and carried out autonomous vessel and obstacle avoidance using proprietary software and information from IR and visible-light cameras, radar and AIS. It also uses a Seakeeper stabilisation system, which is essentially a large flywheel that keeps the craft vertical. That helps with the fuel efficiency and with keeping the craft stable for surveying. “This test showed that the USV can be effectively deployed for surface surveillance tasks for extended periods at sea,” says James Soon, president of Zycraft. The company learnt much about the performance of the onboard systems and also gathered the kind of data about shipping patterns in the South China Sea that can only be acquired by a 24/7 presence, he says. “We were also able to update software to the Vigilant in real time based on observations to further improve performances,” he adds. Another developer, Textron Unmanned Systems Technology | August/September 2017 The ‘Vigilant’ USV travelled 1900 nautical miles independently over 22 days (Courtesy of Zycraft)