Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) developer is looking for partners for research cooperation agreements and commercial agreements with technical assistance

Short summary A Spanish SME specialized in the development of high reliability and advanced performances Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV), which are unmanned vessels for naval applications. The proposed solution is a high reliability, cost-efficient, responsive and integrated unmanned system based in the use of USV to meet specific requirements of maritime users. The system can be easily scalable and repeatable according to user’s needs

Full description The system is composed by an USV, a communications link and a ground control station (GCS): • The Unmanned Surface Vehicle is developed from a commercial boat which meets the requirements of the final application. The standard boat design includes some specific modifications related to the physical configuration and the on-board electronics. The boat is also provided with the unmanned capabilities thanks to the installation of electronics interfaces, on-board software and dedicated communications equipment. On-board payloads (sensors, mechanical equipment, etc.) are defined and integrated according to the application. • The high bandwidth communications link provides enough capability to send to the GCS in real time all information gathered by the on-board sensors and the boat telemetries. It also allows to receive the telecommands sent by the GCS. The system has a nominal link and a backup one to ensure a high effectiveness. The Ground Control Station receives and processes payload data plus navigation & housekeeping boat/engine telemetries. All data are listed and plotted in ad-hoc software applications. Boat position is showed at any time in an electronics navigation chart as well as the position of surrounding vessels.

Advantages and innovations USV have some advantages with respect to manned vessels and they are indicated for those applications which need persistence and long endurance capabilities. A market opportunity has been identified for some specific uses, in particular, those related to safety, security, search & rescue, environmental control and oceanic research. Potential users need to perform maritime operations in a safe an efficient way. Although there are a variety of users and applications, they must face a common set of problems: • Operations in large areas of interest • Perform repetitive and tedious operations • Keep a high level of safety for the crews • All time operations (day/night and bad weather conditions) • Responsiveness The company develops high reliability unmanned systems to perform maritime operations. It will help to provide solutions for most of the mentioned problems: • Persistence and long endurance (24-48 hours) • Programmable paths & tasks allowing repetitive operations • Eliminates risks for the crews: all time/situation operations • It allows to increase the risk in the operations (no crews on-board) • Very quick launch and deployment • Lower operational cost than manned vessels
Contact / source: NEXT EEN Widgets (europa.eu)