Unmanned Systems Technology 028 | ecoSUB Robotics AUVs I ECUs focus I Space vehicles insight I AMZ Driverless gotthard I InterDrone 2019 report I ATI WAM 167-BB I Video systems focus I Aerdron HL4 Herculift

22 In conversation | Geoff Douglass available or was extremely expensive, so we developed our own UUVs to test surface-based infrared tracking systems and other techniques for autonomous launch and recovery of unmanned systems.” Controls guru Douglass’ next move was to SeaRobotics, whose founder and president Don Darling he regards as a mentor. “He has probably the greatest wealth of knowledge I have yet to encounter, but I have also worked with him the longest,” he says. “Don has taught me a lot about the ASV market in general, especially about controls. He is a controls guru, and he has helped me bridge the gap from being mainly mechanically centred in my design skills and understanding of the technology to being more systems-based and understanding the big picture.” That understanding, he says, has enabled him to develop a personal philosophy of engineering that puts the user experience at the centre of good design. “Even if a vehicle is unmanned, a human will interact with it at some point. Therefore, I like to prioritise simplified and intuitive mechanics, electronics and interfacing,” he says. “I want people to walk up to our products – whether it be a mechanism or a control interface – and understand it at first glance. I think that is important for user confidence and acceptance. “Working an aesthetic appeal into design is also important to me, especially in the world of robotics, where there’s a sea of generic-looking systems. “Aesthetic design can be a powerful branding tool that differentiates products at first glance [the Corvette effect]. It’s an aspect of design that lets the user know a vehicle is not a proof of concept but a completed product.” In terms of challenges facing the industry, he says higher levels of autonomy, machine learning and cloud computing are all very desirable, but emphasises that the market is not yet making the most of currently available technology. Merging survey and control “The hydrographic survey market, for example, is not bottlenecked by the capability of ASVs but by the survey packages and sonar systems currently accepted by industry, while product suppliers have not fully shifted their thinking to capitalise on the advantages of ASVs,” he says. “Because ASVs are an emerging technology, the interfacing of hydrographic sensors and acquisition software is still tailored to manned operation. Most require many mouse clicks during set-up and operation, manned oversight to monitor survey quality, and are disjointed from the autonomy of the vehicles.” SeaRobotics has made addressing that issue an important element in the development of its ASVs. Partnering with hydrographic software houses has enabled the company to write the ASV control software around the survey software that operators are used to, so they can focus on collecting the data. October/November 2019 | Unmanned Systems Technology The US Navy’s LDUUV is one of three vehicles Douglass worked on in a ‘blitz’ development earlier in his career during an intense period of rapid engineering and testing (Courtesy of the US Navy) Working an aesthetic appeal into design is important to me, especially in the world of robotics, where there’s a sea of generic-looking systems