Issue 45 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Aug/Sept 2022 Tidewie USV Tupan | Performance monitoring | Bayonet 350 | UAVs insight | Xponential 2022 | ULPower UL350i and UL350iHPS | Elroy Air Chaparral | Gimbals | Clogworks Dark Matter

37 TideWise USV Tupan | Dossier the USV at any given time, as well as clear definitions in the software pointing towards who has the authority to give control, and who has the authority to request it,” Joyeux explains. “All those actions have to be executed in concert with the software. It must track and record what is happening between the two consoles in such a way that the moment and act of control transfer don’t disrupt the core activities of the USV’s controller. “That part was particularly tricky to perfect. And for defending against hostile remote agents, we kept close tabs on the latest and best practices across the global cybersecurity community, not just the marine cybersecurity community. “We also added an extra layer of authentication on top of our pre- existing comms encryptions, just to be sure of the who’s and where’s of the transfer function. We’re not going to stop there either – that’s the thing about cybersecurity, it never really ends.” The TideWise fleet In addition to building two more Tupans the company is, as mentioned, developing an all-electric version. Its design will be similar but useable of course in zero- or ultra-low emissions zones, and the core engineering goal is to be able to operate for up to 48 hours without recharging. The anticipated concept will be to keep the system a short distance (40 nautical miles) from an operating area or recharging station. “We have a Brazilian supplier of batteries, and we’re working with them to find an optimal size of battery pack with the best trade-off between energy, cost and weight,” Coelho says. The company is also designing a roughly 20 m-long USV as a multi- purpose platform for offshore work with a greater payload and vehicular capacity than the current Tupan. It will be capable of carrying small ROVs with the ability to operate in deep water, performing seismic missions, and launching and recovering AUVs and UAVs including VTOL-transitioning craft for long-range logistics, inspections and search & rescue missions. “We’re aiming for 18 months to finish the design of that USV, and then another 2 years after that to get it launched,” Coelho says. “We’re running that project in parallel with all our other new vessels, as well as our projects in object recognition and avoidance, VHF DSC and so on.” TideWise also plans to diversify into transportation, by using its expertise in autonomy and high-voltage powertrain engineering to develop an autonomous electric ferry. “There’s a vast area along the Rio lagoon where the subway lines end, leading to massive traffic jams – it takes thousands of commuters several hours to do just 5 km,” Coelho says. “A local company has given us a contract to provide a zero-emissions ferry that will cut commuting times to 15 or 20 minutes. We’re in the detailed design phase of that right now, and we plan to have built the prototype and put it in the water early next year.” The ferry is expected to be about 12 m long and powered by motors of 30 kW or so, in order to transport 16 passengers and a few bikes at a time, with floating solar pontoons at the docking stations to enable zero-emissions fast charging. Coelho notes though that these are subject to change as the project requirements dictate. In the medium term, the company also plans to expand into Europe. At the time of writing, it had conducted successful trials in Belgium, and taken note of the huge offshore wind farm market in the northern Atlantic and the potential for more applications for the USV Tupan. Uncrewed Systems Technology | August/September 2022 TideWise also plans to develop an autonomous electric ferry for commuters around Rio De Janeiro, as an alternative to using the congested roads in the Brazilian metropolis