Uncrewed Systems Technology 048 | Kodiak Driver | 5G focus | Tiburon USV | Skypersonic Skycopter and Skyrover | CES 2023 | Limbach L 2400 DX and L 550 EFG | NXInnovation NX 100 Enviro | Solar power focus | Protegimus Protection

2,000 uncrewed engineering jobs… …all in one place uncrewedengineeringjobs.com NXInnovation NX 100 Enviro | In operation As Lee notes, “We’ve looked into AI for visual navigation and ways it could help our environmental pursuits. For example, swapping the HD video camera for a thermal imaging one could be brilliant for oil spill responses, as some MWIR cameras show oil on water very clearly, so we’re talking with a university here in New Zealand about getting that kind of smart target recognition into the Enviro, not just for oil but for rubbish too.” He adds that in oil spill operations, two Enviros could be used in tandem to carry a large oil boom between them, or to install containment booms around damaged or sunken ships. Recovery The Enviro can autonomously return to its launch point or move to an assigned recovery waypoint when it’s near the end of its mission, after which its operators can hoist it up with a gaff or similar tool, switch off its electricity supply, hose it clean of saltwater and waste, and prepare it for another outing if necessary. “The cleaning can include removing seaweed from the thrusters, and we’re not against maybe offering hubless thrusters as an option for some of our prospective users who want to clean really weedy areas,” Lee adds. “But we’re happy with the reliability of the thrusters so far, and a quick visual check of them between jobs has been the bulk of the maintenance they’ve needed.” During maintenance, the user can swap battery packs and refuse nets if required, or recharge packs and clean the nets if the spare parts inventory is limited, for instance in emergency jobs where a speedy launch is more important than equipment logistics. Upcoming use cases In addition to the NX 100 Enviro being commercially available for cleaning work, the practically identical NX 100 Pro and the smaller NX 70 are also offered by NXInnovation for water quality surveys, bathymetry, sediments and other environmentally important parameters. “There are really interesting things happening in that regard,” Lee says. “For example, we have an NX 100 Pro about to go to DroneQ Robotics in the Netherlands, a drone services company which is actually planning to deploy our USV in the Arctic. At their request, we’ve installed heating pads for the batteries, and extra lighting for operating in dark or foggy conditions thanks to a Blue Robotics illuminator. “We’ll also soon be delivering another NX 100 Enviro to Sea Cleaners, a green non-profit here in New Zealand dedicated to harbour clean-ups, which we anticipate will involve launching and recovering the Enviro from crewed boats. So their Enviro could clean narrower areas like the Tamaki estuary, while the crews clean the broader water bodies. “It will be an interesting use case, as their crewed boats have to abide by speed limits similar to the Enviro’s maximum speed, so they’ll be able to draw direct comparisons and analyses on things like efficiency between the crewed and uncrewed approaches.” In addition to these and some other bathymetry-focused customers in New Zealand, Lee says the aforementioned Westhaven Marina is listed as a third- tier responder for oil spill emergencies, so NXInnovation’s first professional customer in aquatic waste collection might also become its first in autonomous oil spill response, depending on how the future plays out. NX 100 Enviro USV Catamaran Dimensions: 1000 x 700 x 460 mm Empty weight: 16 kg Payload capacity: 10 kg Maximum speed: 3 m/s Operating speed: 1-2 m/s Endurance: 3 hours Some key suppliers Autopilot: Cubepilot GCS: QGroundControl GNSS core: u-blox Radio data link: Herelink Thrusters: Blue Robotics Lidar: Benewake Specifications 2,000 uncrewed engineering jobs… …all in one place