The Engineer

Q&A: uncrewed evolution under Fugro and SEA-KIT

In-Depth

Fugro and SEA-KIT International, the Essex-based winner of the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, are developing uncrewed surface vessels that can deploy remotely operated vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicles to inspect marine assets.

Ivar de Josselin de Jong, Director Robotics, Remote and Autonomy at geo-data specialist Fugro, spoke to The Engineer about the rationale behind the collaboration and the advantages offered by uncrewed surface vessels.

We wanted to accelerate the uptake of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) as we see this as critical to the future of the marine industry. SEA-KIT International’s expertise in designing and building vessels for maritime and research industries made them an obvious choice, partnering their know-how with our own track record in the marine inspection market.

Plymouth Sound to become proving ground for autonomous marine vessels

The next five years will see a reduction in the reliance on large vessels, with greater focus on compact agile USVs, as part of the important transition towards remote subsea operations. With the UK Government’s Maritime 2050 roadmap setting ambitious targets of zero emission ships globally by 2050, our partnership with SEA-KIT International aligns itself to this strategy of USVs, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).

Register now to continue reading

Thanks for visiting The Engineer. You’ve now reached your monthly limit of premium content. Register for free to unlock unlimited access to all of our premium content, as well as the latest technology news, industry opinion and special reports. 

Benefits of registering

  • In-depth insights and coverage of key emerging trends

  • Unrestricted access to special reports throughout the year

  • Daily technology news delivered straight to your inbox

Register
Or continue by

Signing in with your registered email address