Sea Machines launches ACS for marine vessels

Sea Machines Robotics has released an autonomous control system (ACS) for commercial marine vessels.

Called Sea Machines 300, the technology upgrades a vessel’s operating controls to enable direct remote command using a joystick at a range of up to 1km, or autonomous command which will pilot the vessel along a pre-planned course.

The system gives an operator the flexibility of not being confined to a vessel during operations, boosting productivity and ensuring safety for various traditional marine tasks.

The system is being offered by Sea Machines Robotics to offshore and near-shore vessel operators as well as boat builders for a range of missions including bathymetric surveying, seismic support, spill operations, dredging, aquaculture, surveillance, area marking and escort.

The system is built on marine industrial Siemens components and computers. It interfaces with vessel instruments and systems and can integrate with an array of propulsion configurations. The system captures data from navigation sensors for real-time awareness and perception, including DGPS, AIS, and radar. All autonomy system components are mounted in a marine IP67-rated electrical enclosure.

The system is supplied with a user interface, called Sea Machines TALOS, which provides computer controlled autonomy options, or direct joystick control. TALOS can also control numerous vessels from a single station.

In autonomous mode, the user can select from programmable commands, such as planned waypoint tracking/grids and collaborative navigation with other vessels, while incorporating multi-objective decision making. The Sea Machines 300 features embedded collision avoidance algorithms, and abides by parts of IMO’s COLREGs navigation rules.

The Sea Machines 300 system allows an operator to command a boat from a remote location with the visibility of vessel-born video and radar feed. The system also gives accessibility to remotely control onboard payloads such as survey sonars, winches, cranes, and davits.