Carved from the shipbuilding space in 2015, Sea Machines Robotics has spent the past decade developing and deploying the world’s leading marine autonomy across fleets operating on most oceans. Over that period, the company has invested more than $55 million in venture-backed capital to develop, field, and harden a fully integrated autonomy stack. This investment addressed one of the most technically complex challenge of unmanned surface vessels such as Modular Attack Surface Combatant (MASC): reliable software–hardware integration at scale. Having completed the difficult work up front, Sea Machines is now positioned to rapidly integrate mature, field-proven autonomy into purpose-built autonomous platforms. Today, the company applies its deep shipbuilding roots to deliver a purpose-built autonomous surface ship engineered for modern naval operations. 

Introducing the STEAMRACER-class autonomous surface ship, purpose-built to meet the Navy’s immediate and future fleet requirements for fully unmanned maritime operations. Designed around our hardened, AI-enabled remote command architecture, the platform delivers high speed, extended endurance, modular open-deck payload capacity, and a secure onboard data environment to support distributed operations at scale. 

While engineered from inception for persistent unmanned execution, STEAMRACER retains the flexibility to operate in a limited, short-duration manned configuration when mission requirements dictate – providing operational flexibility without compromising its unmanned-first design. 

Florida-forged, STEAMRACER integrates mature autonomy with proven U.S. shipbuilding capacity through partnerships with St. Johns Ship Building, TOTE Services, Ring Power, Incat Crowther, and EMI-W&O reinforcing the President’s Executive Order to restore American maritime dominance and strengthen the domestic industrial base. To meet the Navy’s resilient and robust communications standards, Sierra Nevada Corporation will provide its Maritime Advanced Secure Transmission (MAST) solution, an open, scalable architecture backed by proven secure communications and cybersecurity expertise.

Aligned with Navy leadership’s call to expand MUSV production, accelerate the scaling of unmanned capability, and rapidly field maritime robotic and autonomous systems, STEAMRACER delivers a ready-now, America-First solution. The defining attribute: PROVEN capability. STEAMRACER provides validated unmanned-first capability that is operationally tested, industrially grounded, strategically aligned, and prepared to scale at the pace required for the Indo-Pacific fight. 

In an era defined by America’s pacing-threat competition with China, our Nation and our Navy cannot afford protracted development programs that delay transition, escalate cost, and fail to field capability. The strategic environment demands operational mass, speed, and scale, not prolonged development without delivery. Others prototype. We deliver proven autonomy at the pace required for deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, or wherever in the world it will be needed. 

Sea Machines stands ready. 

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This latest close includes follow-on investments by the Brunswick Corporation and their investment partner TechNexus, Toyota AI Ventures and NextGen Venture Partners. Sea Machines also welcomes a new investor, Dolby Family Ventures of San Francisco.

“We set the goals for this round in March and with this now accomplished we find ourselves in a great position to focus on execution and scaling by growing our team, expanding our product sales and furthering our advanced technology,” said CEO Michael G. Johnson, Sea Machines. “Market adoption of our autonomous and remote command products is well underway and over the next year we will be delivering new cutting-edge technical features, including computer vision for domain sensing and advancements in decision support.”

Sea Machines’ autonomous systems serve the modern mariner. They markedly increase productivity of vessel operations by assuming active domain perception and navigation duties. A Sea Machines’ system works under the command of a human operator and – by taking on the long duration and often repetitive control duties – it boosts the predictability and precision of operations while lowering the risk of fatigue-related incidents. The technology also enables new capabilities on water, such as the onshore command of remote offshore vessels.

About Sea Machines
Headquartered in the global tech hub of Boston and operating globally, Sea Machines is the leader in pioneering autonomous control and advanced perception systems for the marine industries. Founded in 2015, the company builds autonomous vessel software and systems, which increases the safety, efficiency and performance of ships, workboats and other commercial vessels. Learn more about Sea Machines at www.sea-machines.com.

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The ability to add automation to an existing marine vessel to make it autonomous is here today and is being proven by a Boston company. Sea Machines builds autonomous vessel software and systems for the marine industry. Founded in 2015, the company recently raised $15 million in a Series B round, making it total raised $27.5 million since 2017.

Founder and CEO Michael G. Johnson, a licensed marine engineer, recently took the time to answer via email some questions AI Trends poses to selected startups.

Describe your team, the key people

Sea Machines is led by a team of mariners, engineers, coders and autonomy scientists. The company today has a crew of 30 people based in Boston; Hamburg, Germany; and Esbjerg, Denmark. Sea Machines is also hiring for a variety of positions, which can be viewed at sea-machines.com/careers.

What business problem are you trying to solve?

The global maritime industry is responsible for billions in economic output and is a major driver of jobs and commerce. Despite the sector’s success and endurance, it faces significant challenges that can negatively impact operator safety, performance and profitability. Sea Machines is solving many of these challenges by developing technologies that are helping the marine industry transition into a new era of task-driven, computer-guided vessel operations.

How does your solution address the problem?

Autonomous systems solve for these challenges in several ways:

Autonomous grid and waypoint following capabilities relieve mariners from manually executing planned routes. Today’s autonomous systems uniquely execute with human-like behavior, intelligently factoring in environmental and sea conditions (including wave height, pitch, heave and roll); change speeds between waypoints; and actively detect obstacles for collision avoidance purposes.
Autonomous marine systems also enable optionally manned or autonomous-assist (reduced crew) modes that can reduce mission delays and maximize effort. This is an important feature for anyone performing time-sensitive operations, such as on-water search-and-rescues or other urgent missions.

Autonomous marine systems offer obstacle detection and collision avoidance capabilities that keep people and assets safe and out of harm’s way. These advanced technologies are much more reliable and accurate than the human eye, especially in times of low light or in poor sea conditions.

Because today’s systems enable remote-helm control and remote payload management, there is a reduced need for mariners (such as marine fire or spill response crews) to physically man a vessel in a dangerous environment. A remote-helm control beltpack also improves visibility by enabling mariners to step outside of the wheelhouse to whatever location provides the best vantage point when performing tight maneuvers, dockings and other precision operations.

Autonomous marine systems enable situational awareness with multiple cameras and sensors streaming live over a 4G connection. This real-time data allows shoreside or at-sea operators a full view of an autonomous vessel’s environment, threats and opportunities.

Minimally manned vessels can autonomously collaborate to cover more ground with less resources required, creating a force-multiplier effect. A single shoreside operator can command multiple autonomous boats with full situational awareness.

These areas of value overlap for all sectors but for the government and military sector, new on-water capabilities and unmanned vessels are a leading driver. By contrast, the commercial sector is looking for increased productivity, efficiency, and predictable operations. Our systems meet all of these needs. Our technology is designed to be installed on new vessels as well as existing vessels. Sea Machines’ ability to upgrade existing fleets greatly reduces the time and cost to leverage the value of our autonomous systems.

How are you getting to the market? Is there competition?

Sea Machines has an established dealer program to support the company’s global sales across key commercial marine markets. The program includes many strategic partners who are enabled to sell, install and service the company’s line of intelligent command and control systems for workboats. To date, Sea Machines dealers are located across the US and Canada, in Europe, in Singapore and UAE. We have competition for autonomous marine systems, but our products are the only ones that are retrofit ready, not requiring new vessels to be built.

Do you have any users or customers?

Yes we have achieved significant sales traction since launching our SM series of products in 2018. Just since the summer, Sea Machines has been awarded several significant contracts and partnerships:

The first allowed us to begin serving the survey vessel market with the first announced collaboration with DEEP BV in the Netherlands. DEEP’s vessel outfitted with the SM300 entered survey service very recently.
Next, we partnered with Castine-based Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) and representatives of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD)’s Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) Program to bring valuable, hands-on education about autonomous marine systems into the MMA curriculum.

Then we recently announced a partnership with shipbuilder Metal Shark Boats, of Jeanerette, Louisiana, to supply the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)’s Research and Development Center (RDC) with a new Sharktech 29 Defiant vessel for the purposes of testing and evaluating the capabilities of available autonomous vessel technology. USCG demonstrations are happening now (through November 5) off the coast of Hawaii.

Finally, just this month, we announced that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) awarded us with a multi-year Other Transaction (OT) agreement. The primary purpose of the agreement is to initiate a prototype that will enable commercial ocean-service barges as autonomous Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) units for an Amphibious Maritime Projection Platform (AMPP). Specifically, Sea Machines will engineer, build and demonstrate ready-to-deploy system kits that enable autonomous, self-propelled operation of opportunistically available barges to land and replenish military aircraft.

In the second half of 2020 we are also commencing onboard collaborations with some crew-transfer vessel (CTV) operators serving the wind farm industry.

How is the company funded?

The company recently completed a successful Series B round, which provided $15M in funds, with a total amount raised of $27.5M since 2017. The most recent funds we were able to raise are going to significantly impact Sea Machines, and therefore the maritime and marine industries as a whole. The funds will be put to use to further strengthen our technical development team as well as build out our next level of systems manufacturing and scale our operations group to support customer deployments. We will also be investing in some supporting technologies to speed our course to full dock-to-dock, over-the-horizon autonomy. The purpose of our technology is to optimize vessel operations with increased performance, productivity, predictability and ultimately safety.

In closing, we’d like to add that the marine industries are a critically significant component of the global economy and it’s up to us to keep it strong and relevant. Along with people, processes and capital, pressing the bounds of technology is a key driver. The world is being revolutionized by intelligent and autonomous self-piloting technology and today we find ourselves just beyond the starting line of a busy road to broad adoption through all marine sectors. If Sea Machines continues to chart the course with forward-looking pertinence, then you will see us rise up to become one of the most significant companies and brands serving the industry in the 21st century.

Any anecdotes/stories?

This month we released software version 1.7 on our SM300. That’s seven significant updates in just over 18 months, each one providing increased technical hardening and new features for specific workboat sectors.

Another interesting story is about our Series B funding, which, due to the pandemic, we raised virtually. Because of where we are as a company, we have been proving our ability to retool the marine industry with our technology, and therefore we are delivering confidence to investors. We were forced to conduct the entire process by video conference, which may have increased overall efficiency of the raise as these rounds traditionally require thousands if not tens of thousands of miles of travel for face-to-face meetings, diligence, and handshakes. Remote pitches also proved to be an advantage because it allowed us to showcase our technology in a more direct way. We did online demos where we had our team remotely connected to our vessels off Boston Harbor. We were able to get the investors into the captain’s chair, as if they were remotely commanding a vessel in real-world operations.

In January, we announced the receipt of ABS and USCG approval for our SM200 wireless helm and control systems on a major class of U.S.-flag articulated tug-barges (ATBs), the first unit has been installed and is in operation, and we look forward to announcing details around it. We will be taking the SM200 forward into the type-approval process.

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• The autonomous ships market predicted to grow from EUR5.5 billion in 2018 to EUR12.5 billion by 2030, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.00% during the forecast period.
• Statistics have shown that AI has the capability to boost the transportation and logistics industry performance by almost 90%, potentially increase the industry’s annual revenue up to EUR0.45 trillion.
• The industry need[s] to act now in order to prepare our current and future workforce — such as reforming education, boosting training programs that support seafarers to work with AI and automation. Shipping businesses should elevate human potential through technology by using available AI-powered tools to predict operational risks, navigation solution, voyage optimisation, and the like to reduce maritime accidents.

“It is no doubt that these kinds of ships will give possibilities for headcount savings, eliminate human tragedy, and allow for more efficient use of space in ship design. Autonomous ships would also optimise maintenance activities and maximise fuel utilisation, consequently leave a smaller carbon footprint. The advantages of autonomous ships are plentiful, and autonomous shipping is not just a fanciful idea that could happen in the future, or at least not anymore. It is being developed now by a number of initiatives set up worldwide.”

Click here to read the full article.

Sea Machines is currently testing its perception and situational awareness technology aboard one of A.P. Moller-Maersk’s newest ice-class container ships and has several other installations scheduled.

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[Our] intelligent system merges computer vision, LiDAR, thermal sensors, AIS, GPS and ECDIS charts on a real-time, intuitive display to provide unprecedented situational awareness and visibility that is far superior to the human eye across all conditions.”

After exploring existing and emerging technologies, Food Logistics concluded that marine systems using AI, IoT and blockchain offer ocean ports and carriers the following benefits: “Better crew management and safety, fewer human errors and mitigated risk … along with improved cargo care and customer service.”

Click to read the full story.

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It’s hard to scan marine industry news without coming across a handful of stories each week dedicated to the subject of marine autonomy. While much of the industry chatter is still focused on technologies that are clearly in the development stage – like fully unmanned containerships – there are also stories circulating now about the practical use cases for today’s commercially available autonomous systems.

Autonomous command of a vessel is a highly practical technology that aids the navigation of vessels and improves the productivity and safety of mariners on the water today. Though some autonomous marine technology developers promote concepts that involve building entirely new unmanned vessels, companies such as ours, Boston-based Sea Machines, are offering commercially available systems that require no new vessel construction. More affordable retrofit options like these have made autonomous technologies more accessible to marine operators who aren’t ready or able to add new vessels to their fleets.

Sea Machines’ SM300 autonomous-command and remote-control product was released to the market last year and is now commercially available for installation aboard workboats and small-to-medium sized vessels. Operators can also capitalize on Sea Machines’ SM200 system, which singularly provides wireless remote-helm operation of vessels and on-board equipment by way of an industrial-grade beltpack. Since their release, both products have been installed aboard existing and new-build commercial vessels to provide immediate new capabilities across a variety of vessel types – ranging from marine spill response, survey, fire, search-and-rescue, patrol, aquaculture, dredging, offshore oil and gas, windfarm support and more.

As an example of what is available to commercial operators today, consider what these autonomous-command and remote-control systems offer in terms of added operational capabilities:

Autonomous Control

• Autonomous command and waypoint following
  An operator using the SM300 can command and control a commercial vessel from anywhere in the world that has a network connection. Using the system’s TALOS technology, the vessel operator can plan ENC-based paths, track waypoint following and record voyage data. Real-time situational awareness is provided and a human operator can adjust or override vessel controls at any time.
• Autonomous collaborative following
  Two vessels can autonomously collaborate with exact matched speeds and courses, creating a force-multiplier effect over large surface areas.
• Autonomous obstacle detection and avoidance
  SM300-enabled autonomous vessels come equipped with obstacle detection and collision avoidance capabilities. Again using ENC, AIS, GPS, radar, computer vision and more, Sea Machines not only provides intelligence about objects in a vessel’s path, but will autonomously course-correct the vessel to avoid hazards. Once the obstacle is safely out of the vessel’s path, the SM300 will autonomously re-route the vessel to the planned track line.
• Voyage archiving
  The value of today’s autonomous technology doesn’t stop when the mission ends. When operations cease, mariners have access to archived mission data. This data can inform operators on ways to improve work on the water or can be repurposed as plug-and-play inputs for future projects. Remote-Helm Control Technology like our industrial-grade beltpack allows operators to remotely command a vessel from the shore or a secondary vessel from a distance of up to 1KM. This functionality is available in both the SM200 and SM300 systems. Remote Payload Control Both the SM200 and SM300 systems enable operators to remotely control on-board payloads, such as skimmers, fire monitors, sensors, cameras and other tools, directly from the beltpack. This ability eliminates the need for a mariner to physically engage on-board equipment from within the wheelhouse or even on the vessel.

Remote-Helm Control

Technology like our industrial-grade beltpack allows operators to remotely command a vessel from the shore or a secondary vessel from a distance of up to 1KM. This functionality is available in both the SM200 and SM300 systems.

Remote Payload Control

Both the SM200 and SM300 systems enable operators to remotely control on-board payloads, such as skimmers, fire monitors, sensors, cameras and other tools, directly from the beltpack. This ability eliminates the need for a mariner to physically engage on-board equipment from within the wheelhouse or even on the vessel.

Evidence that Autonomous Systems Work

The technology described above may sound futuristic, but the reality is that it’s here and already at work aboard commercial vessels. The most recent example of this comes from an August headline story out of Portland, Maine. There, Sea Machines deployed the first autonomous spill response skimmer. For the event, which garnered mass industry attention, Sea Machines demonstrated its SM300 in action aboard a manned Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC) skimming vessel as it executed oil-spill recovery exercises in the harbor for the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD). Though no actual oil was released into the harbor for the events, back-to-back demonstrations proved the technology’s ability to increase the safety, response time and productivity of marine spill-response and recovery operations.

The SM300 demos were executed in front of an audience of government, naval, international, environmental and industry representatives. During the event, these attendees witnessed:

Shoreside autonomy

Via laptop computer, a land-based operator commanded the skimmer to execute back-and-forth grid patterns on the water, as if it were collecting spilled product from the water’s surface. In addition to providing value during spill clean-ups, MSRC pointed out the value of autonomous control in the early phases of a response, when site surveys and air and water quality tests are conducted. An unmanned, autonomous boat outfitted with cameras, sniffers, sensors and other equipment can send data back to a shore-side operator without exposing humans to unknown conditions.

Remote control

From the dock, attendees had the opportunity to wear the beltpack and steer the skimmer around the harbor via joystick control. One MSRC spill responder who was observing recalled a hazardous marine spill response that he had managed several years ago in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. With temperatures reaching 110 degrees most days, he and his colleagues donned heavy, bulky protective equipment and respirators to manually skim the water’s surface for hours at a time from cramped wheelhouses. After sharing his experience, the responder said that had he been able to remotely operate a skimmer from an air-conditioned mothership, he could have avoided unnecessary exposure, challenging shift changes and operator fatigue.

Remote payload control

From both the laptop computer and the remote-control beltpack, Sea Machines engaged the on-board boom arm and skimmer belt. The operator’s ability to control such critical equipment with the push of a button from a remote location reinforced the benefits of removing mariners from hazardous operations.

Collaborative operations

Not shown, but equally important were collaborative operations. During a spill event, a mothership and unmanned daughtercraft could remotely or autonomously collaborate to dually tow boom, a capability that removes mariners from dangerous environments and increases productivity.

Challenges

The success of the demonstrations wasn’t without challenge, however. As mentioned above, these capabilities were conducted in Portland with mariners on board. This was done in part to satisfy current U.S. Coast Guard regulations and in part to ensure safety throughout the event. But having people on board the vessel showcased another very real and common challenge marine operators regularly face: The weather. Throughout the demo day, near-constant thunderstorms (as shown above) disrupted operations. Each time lightning was detected, crewmembers aboard the MSRC skimmer were required to cease operations and come ashore for safety. The series of stop-work periods added large amounts of time to the mock responses. If the demos had been real events, these human-safety related delays could have contributed towards additional uncontrolled spread of products in the environment and potentially increased damage.

By contrast, unmanned vessels could have continued working safely throughout the storms from an office or nearby covered area. Whether the challenges present as extreme temperatures, hazardous fumes, dangerous fires, extreme sea conditions or something else entirely, autonomous systems ensure that marine operations go on uninterrupted and with reduced negative impact to humans.

Other challenges unrelated to the MARAD event in Portland do exist for autonomous marine system developers. Because companies like Sea Machines are building technologies that are available for retrofit aboard existing or new-build vessels, its developers had to build them “interface agnostic” so they could integrate with the myriad of products that exist in the market. Much like how Windows products can be used across PCs, Apple computers and other third-party interfaces, installable autonomous marine systems must so integrate with whichever interface is already on a customer’s vessel. This challenge required countless hours of custom programming by the Sea Machines team to ensure compatibility with the most commonly used interfaces – including propulsion and steering systems, instruments, and hydraulic payloads. These efforts have resulted in today’s commercially available products that can be installed aboard most commercial vessels.

So far, none of these challenges has been insurmountable. In fact, most of them are viewed as opportunities by developers, who want to continue refining their systems. Much like any new technology that has radically shifted the way industrial work is done, challenges of autonomous marine technologies will continue present as they are used in real operations. As more marine operators adopt the systems, developers will have new opportunities to make the systems more intuitive, intelligent and indispensable.

Diverse Applications

While a good portion of this article has been dedicated to autonomous marine technology in use aboard spill response operations, these systems have many more applications aboard a wide variety of workboats and commercial vessels. Across all marine operations, autonomy automates tedious, redundant and dangerous tasks, allowing an on-board crew to focus on higher-level operations. On-water incidents can be prevented with obstacle detection and collision avoidance capabilities that Sea Machines built using computer vision, radar, AIS and GPS data. Sea Machines also helps to reduce operator fatigue, a major casualty factor in marine incidents during nighttime operations, long-distance transfers and challenging sea states. And autonomous missions can be saved and reused for future efficiency.

A handful of additional use cases for autonomous-command and remote-control technologies are as follows:

Hydrographic survey and marine patrol operations benefit from multiple autonomous workboats operating collaboratively along pre-planned routes and repetitive paths. These coordinated efforts create a force-multiplier effect that can cover large surface areas more safely and productively.

Similarly, autonomous ice-breaking tugboats can reliably zig-zag through harbors and near-shore waterways during freezing conditions to help keep shipping lanes open.

Autonomous security boats can match the speed and course of larger ships, making escorting of vessels carrying high-value cargo safer and more cost-effective.

Broad coverage areas or long transits to an offshore site from a mainland aboard offshore commercial boats can be executed autonomously, using dynamic waypoint following capabilities. Pairing manned mother vessels with unmanned daughter craft – ideal for offshore surveillance and monitoring, surveying, seismic operations and spill responses – reduces crew expenses and can increase operational periods due to the reduction in stop-work periods related to shift changes.

High-bollard pull tugboats towing out loaded barges can be programmed to operate in collaborative following modes. Such capabilities allow tugboats in complex formations to maintain an exact course and speed from the point of departure to the offshore project site, eliminating fatigue and increasing operational predictability.

Operators can program autonomous aquaculture workboats to execute predictable routes to sites, such as those to deep-sea fish farming sites, or to maintain station-keeping. Autonomous support boats can more efficiently haul feed, monitor operation sites, clean nets and dredge the sea beds beneath farms than traditionally operated boats or can be commanded in unmanned configurations or remotely.

Tugboats involved in the fleeting, shifting and moving barges can be remote-controlled from the shoreline, a second vessel or location outside of the wheelhouse for increased safety. Oftentimes during these operations, visibility from a tugboat’s wheelhouse can be impaired. With remote-control operability, a mariner can safely and confidently control the vessel and load, as well as any connected payloads or auxiliary equipment, from anywhere on board, without relying on a remote spotter.

The same concept applies during dredging operations, whereby mariners can remotely operate tugboats handling dredge barges from locations with better visibility.

In marine emergency response scenarios, stationed vessels – such as those used for security or fires – can be remotely deployed immediately, without waiting for a full crew to arrive. Because responses aren’t slowed down waiting for responders to travel in, incidents can be attended to faster and often before they escalate into large-scale situations.

In the case of marine fire responses, two unmanned boats can autonomously collaborate in highly aggressive sweeping patterns that put out flames faster than more conservative, manned boats could.

Operators can very quickly deploy unmanned or minimally manned search-and-rescue vessels, helping to locate missing people at sea faster. These vessels can be outfitted with thermal and night-vision cameras, as well as other sensors, to provide real-time situational awareness to remote vessel operators. Off-boat operators can remotely control these on-board payloads.

For government operators, unmanned vessels can be stationed long-term at sea to serve as the vital communication link between aerial and subsea assets. These vessels can also serve as a “floating battery,” providing power to connect stand-off vessels to SATCOMs.

For special forces ops, minimally manned and unmanned marine operations allow for removal of military personnel from potential hostage situations. Unmanned drone boats can also serve as diversions, allowing crewed boats to complete missions safely.

Autonomous marine assets can support marine rescue operations, expeditionary logistics and humanitarian relief efforts because they can deliver cargo, ammunition and personnel faster and more cost-effectively. Minimally manned vessels can also serve as efficient “floating hospitals,” allowing more room for medical staff and patients. Following disasters near coastal areas, an unmanned vessel stationed near shore can provide a signal to restore communications and connectivity.

Again, these are just some of the many use cases for today’s available autonomous marine technology. Every day, more and more applications arise, each born out of the need to improve operational safety, productivity and predictability.

What’s Next: Technology for Larger Vessels

The marine industry is on the cusp of even larger changes due to this surge of technological innovation. The next wave of progress will include Artificial Intelligence (A.I.)-powered perception systems for bigger vessels – including ships, tankers, cruise ships and ferries – that will provide advanced situational awareness for piloting. Such technology will provide mariners aboard with a full picture of ship’s surrounding domain, traffic and obstacles using data from conventional marine sensors (like radar and AIS) fused with new technologies, such as real-time image recognition for vessel detection and tracking and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR).

The version of this technology under development by Sea Machines will display these data feeds in a user-friendly way on wide-angle RGB and thermal panoramic screens located in the wheelhouse and other areas of the ship. Sea Machines reports that its system is “always on watch,” and supports navigation 24/7, even in poor visibility and challenging weather conditions.

Along with serving as an advanced situational awareness system, Sea Machines’ system will also act as a hub and conduit for shipboard digital data. This system will collect, display, record and transmit operational telemetry and data, such as navigation and traffic information, videos of the operating domain, environmental information and the condition of on-board machinery.

The main advantages of advanced perception and situational awareness technologies is the reduced risk of uncontrolled incidents, accidents and delays that impact cargo schedules and reduce operators’ bottom lines. These incidents are traditionally caused by limitations in conventional shipboard instruments and the perception limitations of human operators.

Sea Machines is now trialing its A.I.-powered perception and situational awareness technology aboard an A.P. Moeller-Maersk’s new-build VISTULA-class ice-classed container ships in Denmark. The project has been significant not only to Sea Machines and Maersk, but also to the larger maritime industry as the installation marked first time computer vision, LiDAR and perception software have been utilized aboard a container vessel to augment and upgrade transit operations. This system is expected to become commercially available to maritime operators and naval architecture and marine engineering firms in 2020.

Advanced Technology is a Differentiator for Naval Architects

Autonomous control and intelligent perception systems are establishing themselves as differentiators for naval architecture and marine engineering firms who offer them. As operator demand for more modern marine technology grows, the firms that offer these solutions to customers will define themselves as forward-thinking, relevant and highly competitive. An uptick in technological innovation demand on the naval and marine government side is already being seen, with the commercial market quickly following.

While some naval architects are designing new, purpose-built autonomous vessels from the hull up, firms can also consider more flexible, installable autonomous marine systems as an option for customers seeking innovative, new capabilities. The latter is often a more realistic and cost-effective option for marine operators, since installation doesn’t always require the commitment of a new-build vessel.

As an example, Sea Machines’ retrofit-ready systems require only 10 components for installation and can be added to new or existing vessels in less than a week – a tremendous value-add for design firms. With Sea Machines’ return on investment typically seen within a year for commercial operators, naval architects have little reason not to include it as an option for buyers. Even for marine construction projects happening now in shipyards, Sea Machines’ interface-agnostic systems can be added on typically without significant impacts to current delivery timelines.

Naval architecture firms have the unique opportunity to now develop their reputations as innovative solution providers both through the development of custom autonomous vessel designs and retrofit autonomy options. Each option is viable and can be rationalized in today’s marketplace. No matter the approach taken, naval architecture and marine engineering firms have an important role in autonomy’s adoption, which is rapidly changing the way marine business is conducted.

A Safer, More Efficient and More Competitive Industry

In summary, autonomous-command and remote-helm control systems generally offer marine operators the following advantages:

• Autonomous command for more productive, predictable and safer marine operations;
• Remote-helm control for faster responses and reduced operational costs; and
• Remote payload control for on-board equipment cameras, sensors and more;
• Collaborative operations for a force-multiplier effect;
• Crew support to reduce incidents related to fatigue, poor visibility and challenging environments;
• Unmanned operations for increased safety and reduced stop-work periods; and
• Overall reduced manual effort that allows human operators to focus on higher-level tasks.

During the MASS Conference 2019, the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration’s Richard Balzano, deputy administrator (shown above, operating Sea Machines’ remote helm control), said:

“The way we see automation at the Maritime Administration is as a potential enabler to a safer, more efficient and more competitive mode of water transportation that provides more and better jobs for America’s highly trained and dedicated mariners.”

As the marine industry workforce ages, modern technology will play a role in drawing in younger recruits. In this day and age of smart phones and TVs and self-parking cars, the next generation of mariners will not only appreciate and respect the capabilities of modern “smart ships,” but will also expect it.

It’s up to all of us in the industry – whether we are naval architects, marine engineers, vessel owners, mariners or enthusiasts – to recognize the value modern technology brings to operations by way of increased productivity, predictability and safety. Those who capitalize on today’s available technology will reap the greatest benefits as others in the industry play catch-up in the coming months and years.

Click here to contact a member of the Sea Machines team.

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Marine News magazine featured Sea Machines’ technologies for its autonomy-focused October issue, writing:

“Sea Machines find themselves at the leading edge of that which will soon become the biggest disruptive event on the commercial waterfront in more than a century: Autonomous marine vessels. Autonomous marine vessels promise an unprecedented era of safety, increased efficiencies and the introduction of myriad skill sets to a preciously conservative industry with a reputation of being anything but an early adopter. For many years, progress on the water was measured in metrics such as ever larger dead-weight tonnage and the increase in vessel length, breadth and draft that drove change. What comes next will be entirely different. Michael Johnson and Sea Machines will be there when it happens. Listen in as Johnson leads the evolving discussion that will change the marine industry forever.”

Click here to read the full article.

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Since 2017, Sea Machines has attended these annual workshops to network and share development updates on its products, which are built upon the MIT application. During this year’s event, however, the Sea Machines team made a splash by showing up to the event with a new company test boat, Lightning, which had been recently outfitted with the latest version of the company’s SM300 autonomous-command technology.

Along the Boston Harbor, before an audience of 40 workshop attendees, Sea Machines’ Lauren Lamm, marine vessel test lead, (shown above) demonstrated the workboat’s advanced capabilities via the following mission and behavior-based autonomy exercises:

• Remote autonomous control from an onshore location,
• ENC-based mission planning,
• Autonomous waypoint tracking, and
• Autonomous search-and-survey paths.

In addition to the engaging, on-water demonstration, Sea Machines’ Don Black, vice president, sales and marketing, gave an educational presentation that introduced the company and provided updates on current projects — including Sea Machines’ A.I.-powered situational awareness system currently being trialed aboard an A.P. Moeller-Maersk container ship in Denmark; the Sea Machines/Department of Transportation Maritime Administration/Marine Spill Response Corp. cooperative agreement that will demonstrate Sea Machines technology aboard a spill-response skimmer later this month; and the partnership with dealer Hike Metal to demonstrate Sea Machines’ ability to enhance marine search-and-rescue operations next spring in Canada.

This annual workshop is hosted by MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Center for Ocean Engineering, as part of the Laboratory for Autonomous Marine Sensing Systems (LAMSS). MOOS-IvP is pronounced “moose i-v-p”.

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GES’ list of distinguished speakers includes outstanding entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors, supporters and policymakers from around the world. Johnson will serve as an expert panelist for tomorrow’s “Inspirational Plenary: By Land, by Sea, by Air – All Autonomous Mobility” event, as facilitated by King Willem-Alexander, of the Netherlands.

A short list of GES’ other leading distinguished speakers includes Her Majesty Queen Máxima and Prince Constantijn, of the Netherlands; Ivanka Trump, advisor to the U.S. President; Michael Kratsios, U.S. CTO and deputy assistant to the U.S. President; Elaine L. Chao, U.S. secretary of transportation; Carlos Moedas, EU commissioner for research, science and innovation; Frans van Houten, CEO, Philips; and more. The full list of leading GES 2019 speakers may be viewed online here.

“It is an honor to have been selected as a speaker at the GES,” said Johnson, of the appointment. “As is happening in other industries, Sea Machines is now leading the revolution in the commercial marine space by pioneering autonomous control and advanced perception systems that make surface vessel operations more productive, predictable and safer. I look forward to collaborating with fellow panelists and representing Sea Machines before an audience of acclaimed world leaders.”

Sea Machines’ inaugural SM series of products – which includes the SM300 and SM200 – provides marine operators a new era of capability with task-driven, computer-guided vessel control. These products are now commercially available and can be installed aboard existing or new-build surface vessels to bring advanced autonomy within reach for small- and large-scale operations. The company is also currently developing advanced perception and navigation assistance technology for a range of vessel types, including container ships.

About Sea Machines
Headquartered in the global tech hub of Boston and operating globally, Sea Machines is the leader in pioneering autonomous control and advanced perception systems for the maritime industry. Founded in 2015, the company builds autonomous vessel software and systems, which increases the safety, efficiency and performance of ships, workboats and commercial vessels. Learn more about Sea Machines at www.sea-machines.com.

About GES
2019 Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) from June 3-5, 2019, in The Hague. Co-hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and the Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, GES 2019 is the ninth such gathering of entrepreneurs, business leaders, supporters, and government officials. Speakers will address ways to support the next wave of entrepreneurship and innovation and the future of agriculture, connectivity, energy, health, and water.

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“The maritime industry today is highly manual and has a relatively high accident rate, largely due to human error. One solution to this includes deploying advanced perception and situational awareness technology.”

Read more from Sea Machines and the full article here.

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“The long-term potential for self-driving boats involves teams of autonomous vessels working in concert. In many harbours, multiple tugs bring in large container ships, communicating either through radio or by a whistle. That could be replaced by software controlling all the boats as a single system.”

Read the full story here. Dazeinfo focuses on data-driven industry analysis, latest business trends, industry forecast, companies’ growth and leadership news.

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Sea Machines will attend the BIMCO Autonomous Ships Seminar on Wed., March 27, in Copenhagen, to discuss the future of autonomous shipping with commercial marine industry leaders and ship owners. During this event, Sea Machines will contribute towards BIMCO’s goals of:

1. Prioritizing the five most important developments in order to make autonomous shipping a reality;
2. How best to prepare the industry and identify what the next steps should be; and
3. Capturing a realistic picture of the future with the help of some business cases, by providing information about Sea Machines’ trial of the world’s first A.I.-powered, situational awareness system aboard an A.P. Moller-Maersk containership.

To request time to meet with Sea Machines during the seminar, contact us here.

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While the presentation will primarily focus on the Maersk project, the speaking opportunity also gives Holm the chance to share the successes and trials from many of Sea Machines’ other “industry firsts.” These include the company’s demonstration of the first autonomous-command, remote-controlled fireboat, owned by TUCO Marine, and the recent operation of a workboat in Boston via a remote-command station located more than 1,500 miles away.

Planning to attend? Request time to meet with Holm here.

e-Navigation Underway International is a recurring event, scheduled this year from Feb. 6 through 9, 2019. The event brings together international experts from all over the world to discuss the implementation of e-navigation and new technologies.

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Analytics India Magazine says A.I. and automation are playing a significant role in the shipping industry. In this recent article, the publication lists how these technologies are transforming the shipping industry at large. Don’t miss the story, which discusses Sea Machines’ partnership with A.P. Moller-Maersk to trial the world’s first situational awareness system aboard a container ship.

Read the Analytics India Magazine here.

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