Unmanned Systems Technology 022 | XOcean XO-450 l Radar systems l Space vehicles insight l Small Robot l BMPower FCPS l Prismatic HALE UAV l InterDrone 2018 show report l UpVision l Navigation systems

31 XOcean XO-450 | Dossier block. The team is experienced enough to know they don’t know everything and to leave enough contingency in terms of time and budget, Ives says. “We had a very clear plan last year, which was to have the first boat afloat at the turn of the year. In the end, the boat hit the water in the first week in January,” he says. Automated, not autonomous Autonomy is limited to following programmed waypoints or courses and carrying out standard lost-link procedures, as the operating concept involves a master mariner in command over the satellite link at all times. The operator interface is XOcean’s CyberDeck, which provides a moving map display showing standard maritime situational awareness information as well as TV and IR camera views and vehicle systems parameters. In normal operation, the XO-450 follows the set of waypoints, which the autopilot tracks to an accuracy of about 0.6 m in almost any weather conditions, Ives says, but it can also be manually operated. After launch from a slipway, a member of the team on the deck of the safety boat drives the XO-450 using a handheld controller. When clear of the harbour, they switch to automatic operation from a control room ashore. “This is not an autonomous vessel,” Ives says. “We recognise that there is an autonomy scale, but we believe it is important to keep a human in the loop.” XOcean’s policy is to comply with all the regulations that govern the operation of vessels at sea, and Ives emphasises that although they have removed the officer of the watch physically from the vessel, he or she is given all the information that would be available if they were on board. See and be seen To see other traffic there is a set of four fixed daylight TV cameras from Iris Innovations with overlapping fields of view that provide all-round coverage. There is also a pan/tilt/zoom thermal camera from FLIR Systems in a turret that works well in fog, mist, rain and other conditions of poor visibility. It’s important as well to make sure other traffic on the ocean can see the XO-450, so it is fitted with an Active-X radar target enhancer from Echomax that when painted by another vessel’s radar makes the reflection brighter. “It’s not quite a transponder, because it only amplifies a signal when it receives one,” Carlisle explains. “If you are operating a radar, normally you are just seeing a reflected signal. This basically uses a few microwatts of power to amplify the reflection.” There is also an automatic identification system transmitter that broadcasts the boat’s identity, course, track history, speed and purpose, along with an array of lights to indicate orientation by marking the bow, stern and port and starboard sides. The superstructure is painted yellow for maximum visibility, and there’s a foghorn that sounds at regular intervals in poor visibility. In addition to the controls and displays provided to the USV pilot/master mariner, a survey sensor operator would also normally be in the loop. Unmanned Systems Technology | October/November 2018 The XO-450 is automated but not autonomous, with a mariner acting as officer of the watch (Courtesy of XOcean) The upper platform supports devices including daylight TV cameras, a GNSS receiver and antenna, an active radar reflector (the tall white cylinder), a weather station (atop the tall black pole), a satcom and microphone (Courtesy of XOcean)