Autonomous Ship (issue 42, February/ March 2022) was version 2. He added that Marine AI can also integrate newer sensor types such as HD radars or Lidars, as well as interfacing with other onboard systems such as the engine throttle, where required. EvoLogics’ Sonobot 5USV (featured in issue 37, April/May 2021) is a tool for autonomous wide-area hydrographic surveys for use by groups including the police services to locate objects such as crashed cars or bicycles at the bottomof lakes throughmulti-beam sonar scanning. To further advance the USV’s capabilities in acoustic surveys, EvoLogics has updated and re-released the Sonobot 103 5 (albeit with the same numbering) with a payload styled as ‘the EvoLogics echosounder powered by Norbit’, as the system is a multi-beam sonar integrating OEM boards, software and other components fromNorbit. As Dr Ilja Lange, head of underwater robotics development at EvoLogics told us, “It’s the smallest USV available with an integrated Norbit sonar. To develop it, we integrated their sonar interface unit in an OEM format, so without its typical housing but still with its Applanix IMU and I/Os as standard, into a watertight housing of our own that sits below the waterline, undisturbed by waves and cooled by the surrounding water.” The payload housing attaches with a single cable and quick mechanical release for ease of maintenance and disassembly. In future, as Norbit plans to use a common interface for all its devices, other Norbit sonars could potentially be quickly installed onto the Sonobot using this mechanism. Norbit’s DCT (Data Collection Tool) software is also installed on the Sonobot. This takes the survey data being collected and stored onboard and broadcasts key parts of it to the operator’s GCS, whether it is running EvoLogics’ software or Norbit’s. “We see a wide spread of users being interested in this integration, because especially in Northern Europe and some areas of the south it’s becoming nearly mandatory to use multi-beam sonars,” Dr Lange said. “That’s because full seabed coverage is increasingly requested from surveyors, and you can’t achieve that anywhere near as easily with a singlebeam or sidescan sonar. “And although the weight of the sonar takes a bit away from the speed, without it the Sonobot is still the fastest survey USV out there, at 5 m/s top speed, which can be a critical asset for police, intelligence or defence work if you need to perform surveillance and then quickly escape an area.” SubCtech was on hand to discuss one of the newest applications for its underwater battery technology, principally when stationary. “We are providing a 2 MWh battery lithium-ion back-up system for an offshore subsea production system, at about 1500 m depth, with a total of up to 6 MWh potentially to be deployed there,” Soren Johannsen told us. “The system, the 1 MWh Power Skid, contains 12 super-duplex steel canisters, each consisting of 14 SmartPowerBlocks [SPBs] that are also used in AUVs and other autonomous vehicles. “It will be the first of its kind to come with full API17F and DNV certification, and it will be deployed later this year to achieve TRL6.” Once the system is deployed, it is expected to be used with docking stations for AUVs to interface and charge themselves from the stationary Ocean Business 2023 | Show report Uncrewed Systems Technology | June/July 2023 The waters outside Southampton’s NOC provided a demonstration stage for several new and cutting-edge uncrewed systems EvoLogics has updated its Sonobot USV with a multi-beam sonar from Norbit
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