Issue 39 Unmanned Systems Technology August/September 2021 Maritime Robotics Mariner l Simulation tools focus l MRS MR-10 and MR-20 l UAVs insight l HFE International GenPod l Exotec Skypod l Autopilots focus l Aquaai Mazu

22 T he Maritime Robotics Mariner is a 5.8 m ASV conceived to provide a user-friendly, cost- effective and low-risk platform for data acquisition at sea as an alternative or adjunct to larger manned vessels. The company’s founder and CEO Vegard Evjen Hovstein argues that a single small ASV can replace a larger crewed vessel in many operations, and that an ASV optimised for a particular application is much more cost-effective than a larger, general-purpose unmanned vessel that needs a support crew. The Norwegian company has both civilian and military missions in mind for the Mariner. These include seismic and bathymetric surveys, tracking AUVs with USBL positioning systems, surveillance and, later, transporting goods. A major goal for the design team was ease of customisation to suit a broad range of specialist missions, which led them to pursue a high level of integration with third-party sensors, equipment and software. Recognising that the quantity and quality of data collected at sea is the most important aspect of any survey, the company’s sensor integration team works with customers to tackle any problems that arise when integrating payloads. This focus on customisation also provides an opportunity to eliminate non- essential features and the associated costs. Further, frugal use of fuel reduces the Mariner’s carbon footprint, while being relatively small and light makes long-distance transport easier and deployment safer, particularly with the use of the Mariner’s dedicated launch & recovery system (LARS), Hovstein says. While the Mariner can be operated as a single unit, Maritime Robotics has demonstrated and patented what it calls a formation control mode, which enables multiple crewed and uncrewed vessels to operate and collect data as if they were one unit. The system designates one ASV as the leader and has the others follow it in a formation configured to optimise coverage in seafloor surveys, for example. Peter Donaldson reports on the development of this survey ASV, which combines ease of customisation with autonomy Made to measure August/September 2021 | Unmanned Systems Technology