STUART, Fla. — SeaRobotics Corp. has been awarded a contract to supply multiple SR-Surveyor M1.8 Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASVs) to the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory to help the Department of the Navy develop its advanced autonomy research program, the company said in an Oct. 8 release.
The SR-Surveyor M1.8 is a tightly integrated, 1.8-meter long ASV designed to streamline logistics and optimize data acquisition in shallow and hard-to-navigate waters. The platform is specifically purposed to be versatile and rapidly deployable for users that require high quality, reliable data capture in remote and restricted waters.
Leveraging the highly reliable SR-Surveyor M1.8 ASV, SeaRobotics optimized the platform for multi-vehicle collaborative behavior development. This custom configuration provides an innovative and cost-effective system for various research activities.
“While we have developed a number of unmanned systems for marine defense application in the past, this is the first truly man-portable asset for multi-vehicle deployment,” said SeaRobotics president Don Darling. “This contract award supports the continued commitment to the advancement of autonomy research for naval operations and we are excited that the SR-Surveyor M1.8 will play an instrumental role.”
The first SR-Surveyor M1.8 is scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2020, with staged deliveries bi-weekly to follow and scheduled to be completed early in the first quarter of 2021.
