SeeByte Awarded Contract to Develop Adaptive Autonomous Maritime Control System
ASV's C-enduro unmanned surface vehicle is the initial target platform for SeeByte's autonomy control system research. Photo: Autonomous Surface Vehicles.
SeeByte, creator of smart software for unmanned maritime systems, was awarded a contract by the Small Business Research Initiative to work with Autonomous Surface Vehicles Ltd. and the Marine Biological Association of the U.K. in creating a flexible autonomy framework for a range of oceanographic and environmental scenarios.
The team will develop an open software tool set and user interface from SeeByte’s SeeTrack Neptune, the software that currently makes up the U.K. Maritime Autonomy Framework, that will change and adapt to the environment and mission requirements.
The U.K.’s National Oceanography Centre will provide its ASV C-Enduro unmanned surface vessel for initial system integration. Additional funding for the project, Adaptive Autonomous Ocean Sampling Networks, is provided by the Natural Environmental Research Council, Innovate UK and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.
“At SeeByte we are delighted to [have] received funding from SBRI for this project,” says Chris Haworth, business development manager at SeeByte. “We believe at SeeByte that autonomous systems have the potential to completely change how marine operations are conducted and become the vehicle of choice for a wide range of functions.”
SeeTrack Neptune is an adaptive planning tool for AUV operations that supports goal-based mission descriptions and matching mission requirements against vehicle capabilities. The software will also be capable of adapting the mission based on environmental changes and new assets or mission objectives.
