Maritime Robotics USV | UVIO Control logic The largest item shipped by the Mariner currently is the main body of the Otter USV, which is roughly 2 m long, 1 m wide and tall, and fits inside the larger USV’s cargo hold (and well within its 400 kg payload capacity). As the USV transports cargo, both crews at Trondheim and Vanvikan monitor its activity, performance and health. As mentioned, the receiving crew is typically the one in control, but in the company’s control logic, each VCS in-the-loop can be assigned a number corresponding with its prioritisation in the hierarchy of computers. “The main control-room user at the receiving end will always have the highest number, and the second-highest will often be a secondary control station next to that user, which isn’t actively being used but serves as a backup, and then operators at different locations, including the mission start area, get their numbers,” Moholt says. “The higher-number computers can relinquish control to lower-ranked users as the need arises, but control cannot be seized from anyone unless they relinquish it, so defining higher and lower users, or ensuring end-users do so clearly on their end, is a key part of our CONOPS.” The comms arrangement ensuring triple-redundant control and monitoring connections includes maritime broadband radio (which serves as the primary data link), 4G cellular radio, and a satcom system such as Starlink or Iridium. Some customers will also integrate Iridium short burst data (SBD) as an entirely standalone backup method for sending very small packets of information akin to SMS messages, particularly in the event that propulsion and all comms go down, and either the USV must ping its condition and location in short form or the user wants to send very simple emergency commands. “We’re not restricted to those,” Moholt adds. “The main architectural focus of all our vessels is modularity, so we’re working to avoid putting any restriction on what the customer can use, whether it is data links or something else.” Post operation Once the USV arrives at the receiving dock in Vanvikan (or Trondheim if a return journey is being performed), one operator in the port-side crew closely monitors its docking activity (and may perform this manually if they choose), while a second crew member ropes and moors the Mariner to secure it for offloading. “We are now capable of auto-docking – admittedly, this is our first time mentioning that publicly – and we’re developing some proprietary subsystems around that to autonomously moor or lock the USV in place, such that the operator could be in Australia and the whole thing would be done autonomously,” Moholt says. “That can be further developed to integrate something like a charging or refuelling station, so those aspects of maintenance can be made autonomous also.” He notes that Maritime Robotics does not use robotic arms because saltwater can play havoc with electric motorised joints and other moving parts. Maintenance tasks following or between deliveries are minimal (a very deliberate objective of the Mariner’s design and engineering), particularly as the USV’s powertrain is built to provide five full 97 Uncrewed Systems Technology | October/November 2024 Maritime Robotics has designed for a wide, open space inside the hatch for easy cargo loading, unloading and powertrain inspection The architectural focus of all our vessels is modularity, so we’re working to avoid putting any restriction on what the customer can use
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