This combined vessel ‘mothership and payload’ concept will allow the deployment of dozens of ASW floats from USV PIONEER in a single mission. It will enable a persistently poised platform ofcapable to deploying deep-water sensors on immediate notice and eliminate the operational risks and high costs associated with crewed vessels and manual deployment in hazardous offshore environments.
Autonomous ACUA platform deploys our AI-powered acoustic technology. (Video credit: RS Aqua)
Neil Tinmouth, CEO of ACUA Ocean, said, “Partnering with RS Aqua enables the perfect conceptual and technological match of their suite of technologies, particularly the NiKA floats and MARLIN software, with USV PIONEER. This is another example of where we believe that USV PIONEER offers something that cannot be found in any similarly-sized and priced USV – a highly cost-effective method of poising a mobile launch platform in open-ocean conditions over several weeks, from which hundreds of highly-capable underwater sensors can be launched.”
Ryan Mowat, Director of Innovation at RS Aqua, said, “Our partnership with ACUA Ocean means that for the first time we will be able to deploy large numbers of covert ocean monitoring systems from an uncrewed vessel that has regulatory approval and is proven in high sea states. This capability will be a game-changer for the fields of ocean science and antisubmarine warfare, making the rapid deployment of smart underwater monitoring systems across the globe quicker, safer, and cheaper.
