48 On land, Australia is famed for its range of species and climates, but its coastline is also rich in animal and other resources. Its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers about 10 million square kilometres of ocean territory – more area than its 7.69 million square kilometres of land mass, 0.22% of which houses 90% of its population. Within the EEZ, Australia claims certain sovereign rights to the living and non-living natural resources, from offshore mineral deposits to its growing wind farms industry and the aquatic biodiversity. With such a small population having to care for so much ocean territory, and given the expense and danger of doing so through crewed vessels alone, it was inevitable that autonomous systems would become a huge market on the island continent. We have previously seen Australianbuilt platforms such as the C2 Robotics Speartooth LUUV (issue 48, February/ March 2023) and the Advanced Navigation Hydrus micro-AUV (issue 43, April/May 2022) attract growing attention. However, the biggest success story so far might be the Bluebottle USV from Ocius Technology. This is a 6.8 m-long single-hull vessel powered by solar, wind and waves, enabling 150 W for payloads (of which it can hold up to 300 kg) and a theoretically indefinite endurance. The system has been developed by Ocius in partnership with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), and in June 2023 the navy received its An innovative combination of power sources allows this vessel to provide 24/7 maritime missions. Rory Jackson reports Roundtheclock patrol August/September 2023 | Uncrewed Systems Technology
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