Unmanned Systems Technology 038 l Skyeton Raybird-3 l Data storage l Sea-Kit X-Class USV l USVs insight l Spectronik PEM fuel cells l Blue White Robotics UVIO l Antennas l AUVSI Xponential Virtual 2021 report

55 USVs | Insight remote maintenance capabilities,” says Guillaume Eudeline, iXblue’s global business development manager for ships and drones. “That meant segregating a number of breakers, modules and assemblies across the hardware architecture, to enable technicians to isolate aspects of the DriX’s subsystems over a data link without needing to physically get into the USV.” Also, iXblue’s engineers have developed a 20 ft ‘mobile workbench’ container, which is designed to fold outwards on piers or ships’ work decks as a turnkey maintenance centre for the DriX; smaller versions of the workbench are also available. The standard 40 ft container has been upgraded as well, to better handle snowfall and harsh environments for the USV’s customers in the Arctic and other extreme climates. Naturally, having been originally designed with a streamlined hull and a payload gondola for capturing high- resolution, noise-free data using any COTS sensors, the DriX has also been updated regarding its range of compatible surveying tools, including the latest multi- beam and sub-bottom profilers. “For customers looking into deeper waters or specific projects such as unexploded ordnance surveys, we’ve also developed a towfish called the FlipiX, which can be deployed behind the DriX,” Eudeline notes. “The FlipiX is towed and powered by the DriX but otherwise it autonomously maintains a fixed altitude above the seabed. That is critical for getting real-time and accurate data from magnetometers or sidescan sonars fitted on the towfish.” He adds that the DriX can also now perform ‘underway sound velocity profile’ measurements using an onboard winch, while simultaneously conducting surveys. This provides a critical capability for gauging the quality of underwater survey data, enabling more efficient operations. As the system has matured into a commercially available solution, the company has now also integrated a fully autonomous obstacle avoidance system. Olivier Moisan, DriX USV operations manager, says, “In addition to thermal and Lidar data, we’ve installed a radar for detecting and tracking surrounding objects, including high-speed vessels up to 2 km away. The DriX is fully capable of autonomously avoiding objects, and the HMI has been configured to give efficient alerts and priority messages to operators in case they want to intervene.” Moisan explains that the HMI will display the coordinates of moving objects in the DriX’s vicinity, using data from whichever sensors are picking them up (including AIS). The USV can then autonomously take evasive action. iXblue is also working on bandwidth management, aiming for real-time satellite- based downlinks of high-resolution survey information with ever-higher data rates. That will include automatic selection of bands for optimal data efficiency and pricing in different regions. “We’ve integrated a 4G modem and a satellite antenna as part of that, and we can incorporate other comms systems such as Kongsberg MBR [Maritime Broadband Radio], enabling several DriXs to carry out joint nautical charting over large survey areas from a single control station,” Moisan adds. “We have also improved the integration of hydrographic survey software such as EIVA NaviPac or Qinsy within the HMI in order to automate some of the acquisition and processing workflows. That also makes it easier to control and monitor multiple DriXs at once.” Defence Defence engineering company Meteor Aerospace has completed a series of sea trials of its Orca USV. The trials included successful autonomous navigation, the use of numerous mission payloads and a high-speed intercept of a maritime target. The Orca is 13.1 m long, has a 3.4 m beam and 0.9 m draft. It displaces up to 8 t and has a top speed of 60 knots or faster, with both weight and top speed depending on mission configuration. The company says the Orca is propelled by dual 570 bhp diesel engines. Each one connects to an Arneson drive, which enables control of the propellers’ thrust vector without the need for rudders. A fuel tank with a capacity of 1600 litres gives a maximum range of 700 nautical miles. The trials were conducted from a shore-based GCS, via an encrypted bidirectional data link between the GCS and the Orca so that the operators could transmit commands to it, and it in turn could feed back status telemetry. A separate, encrypted, wideband data link transmitted live information from the Orca’s onboard sensors to the operators. The sensors included a radar, a gyro- stabilised EO camera, first-person-view Unmanned Systems Technology | June/July 2021 The Orca incorporates a range of sensors for effective maritime security operations as well as autonomous sense & avoid functionality (Courtesy of Meteor Aerospace)