Unmanned surface vessel from HII to test autonomy, sensor capabilities
NewsMay 20, 2021
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. Shipbuilding concern Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has debuted its Proteus unmanned surface vessel (USV) for testing and development of autonomy capabilities.
The 27-foot Proteus USV -- kitted out with Sea Machines Robotics’ SM300 autonomy system -- successfully demonstated its capabilities on Friday, May 14, 2021 off the coast of Panama City, Florida.
For the demonstration, the HII Proteus USV was equipped with commercial perception sensors, including GPS, automatic identification system, depth transducer, radar, and a camera with a 360-degree field of view. HII sent out a separate 51-foot dive boat during the demonstration to illustrate SM300 system’s off-the-shelf solution, including obstacle avoidance and adherence to the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
