Unmanned Systems Technology 012 | AutoNaut USV | Connectors | Unmanned Ground Vehicles | Cobra Aero A33i | Intel Falcon 8+ UAV | Propellers | CES Show report

more conventional USVs, says Poole. “For example, if there are waves she doesn’t stop. Even in apparently flat calm, with the undulations nearly always evident at sea, she will make half a knot. That makes for easier recovery to another vessel at sea, as both vessels have steerage way.” The highest speed achieved so far, he says, is 4 knots with a 5 m AutoNaut. Factors that drive the range of hull sizes the company offers include the ability to achieve sufficient speed to cope with tides and currents – long, narrow hulls tend to be faster – the weight and volume requirements of the payload and the surface area available for the PV panels needed to run the payload and charge the batteries, allowing for occasional use of the thruster. “Notionally we set a USV limit of 7 m length overall,” Poole says. “That is because the international legal and regulatory framework surrounding the safe navigation of all autonomous devices at sea is in development. The 5 m AutoNaut features a wind speed and direction sensor on top of one of its masts, with short-range comms antennas (right) and an anti-collision light (left) lower down (Photo: Peter Donaldson)