Vehicle Systems News

Argeo, a Norwegian autonomous underwater vehicle provider, has signed a 5-year bareboat contract for the vessel Argeo Searcher (former Ocean Pearl), with an option to purchase the vessel for $2 million after 12 months and $1 million after 27 months. The vessel is expected to be delivered to the company on December 10, 2022."The international expansion of Argeo means contracts are significantly larger, with longer duration, and therefore require predictability in our operational value chain.

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has signed a joint development agreement with Coast Autonomous Inc. to accelerate the development and launch of robotic solutions across the mobile equipment offering. Kalmar has also become a minority shareholder of Coast Autonomous.The joint development agreement and investment in Coast Autonomous follows the introduction of Kalmar Robotic Portfolio - a future range of intelligent, flexible and autonomous mobile equipment solutions designed to improve safety…

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, a U.S.-based dredging services giant, on Wednesday announced the appointment of industry veteran Eleni Beyko as senior vice president offshore wind – a strategic growth area for the company. Beyko, who started on Jan. 25, brings more than 20 years' experience in program engineering, business leadership and project management in the automobile and offshore oil and gas markets. At GLDD, she is responsible for developing its offshore wind operations, including strategy and business development, tendering and project execution.

A refurbished 48-foot workboat has been delivered to The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) for its second life as a research vessel.The vessel, an Endeavor 45 cabin patrol vessel originally built by Silver Ships in 2008 for the State of Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (DMR), returned to the Theodore, Ala. shipyard for the transformation. The vessel is now capable of supporting the USM School of Ocean Science and Engineering’s deep ocean underwater surveys using various uncrewed underwater vehicle systems.

Fifty navy divers and mine warfare specialists from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Britain converged on Bland Bay, New Zealand for Exercise FULCRUM recently. The contingent had to locate and dispose of 16 dummy mines of varying shape, size and weight, set throughout the bay. Australian and British autonomous underwater vehicle teams used remote environmental monitoring units to scan the bay floor and identify mine-like objects. The US and New Zealand then sent out divers to confirm whether or not they were mines, said Lieutenant Teina Hullena of the Royal New Zealand Navy Clearance Diving Group. "They would then either 'blow them up' or raise them to the surface for intelligence gathering," Lieutenant Hullena said.

This year the SeaPerch Program will celebrate a half decade of national underwater robotic championships. On the last Saturday in May, the fifth National SeaPerch Challenge will be held on the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMassD) campus where 150 teams of middle and high school students from across the country will compete on the national stage. The phenomenal growth of the event is evident with a simple look back to the inaugural National Challenge, staged in Philadelphia five years ago attracting 38 teams and 187 students.

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has successfully completed the project to supply the onboard navigation application for four automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to PSA Singapore. The initiative is part of PSA's strategic investment in automation technologies to enhance its premier status as the world's largest transhipment hub. The project included the design of the AGVs' onboard navigation system, the navigation infrastructure and the deployment of Kalmar SmartFleet remote diagnostic tools. The installation and integration to vehicle systems were started in the autumn of 2013, and the navigation application was fully integrated with PSA Singapore's in-house systems by the end of 2014.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is expanding its support for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education across the globe by sponsoring the Maritime RobotX Challenge in Singapore, Oct. 20-26. Bringing together 15 teams of university students from five countries (United States, Singapore, Korea, Japan and Australia), RobotX challenges each team to develop and test a highly-capable unmanned surface vessel (USV). In addition to the company's sponsorship of the RobotX competition, two Northrop Grumman employees are serving as mentors and judges. Guidance and control engineer Kyle Palmer and systems engineer Tyler Tamashiro are…

QinetiQ, as part of a new Marine Surface Target Service, has signed a contract with Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASV) for the supply and operational support of autonomous surface target vessels. The partnership is part of a new initiative enabling QinetiQ's Marine Surface Target Service to rapidly and effectively meet customer needs for trials and training against appropriate targets. The Marine Surface Target Service is an innovative addition to the wider QinetiQ Target Services, which offers aerial and underwater targets for ‘real’ test, evaluation and training.

Excitement continues to build for the Fourth Annual National SeaPerch Challenge, as 2014 will see the largest group of SeaPerch competitors ever to assemble and compete for the title of National Champion. Hosted by the Mississippi Regional SeaPerch Committee, this year’s national competition will be held at the University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss) in Hattiesburg, MS, on Saturday May 17, 2014. Here, more than 100 middle and high school teams from all over the country will come together for a weekend of learning, sharing, competing and fun.

In a few weeks, SeaPerch, a national educational outreach program using underwater robotics, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), will hold its 2013 National SeaPerch Challenge. Hosted by the Indiana State Regions this annual competition will take place on the campus of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) on Saturday, May 18, 2013, at the University’s Natatorium housing the Olympic pool. There the top 100 winning teams from regional competitions…

In only a few weeks, SeaPerch, a national educational outreach program using underwater robotics, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), will hold its 2013 National SeaPerch Challenge. Hosted by the Indiana State Regions this annual competition will take place on the campus of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) on Saturday, May 18, 2013, at the University’s Natatorium housing the Olympic pool. There the top 100 winning teams from regional competitions…

VectorNav Technologies launch the VN-200, high-accuracy GPS-Aided Inertial Navigation System (GPS/INS) on a surface-mount chip the size of a postage stamp. Combining an advanced GPS module with the latest in MEMS inertial and pressure sensor technology, the patent-pending VN-200 provides a coupled position, velocity and attitude solution that is robust to a wide range of static and dynamic operating conditions. The release of the VN-200 GPS/INS marks a significant advancement in the field of inertial navigation. Over the past few decades, the size, weight, power, and cost constraints of typical GPS/INS systems have greatly limited the type and number of end-use applications.

The theme of the 4th International RoboBoat Competition, sponsored by The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Foundation and the Office of Naval Research (ONR), was “The Four Elements.” Teams of students designed and built autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) that faced challenges involving earth, air, fire and water. The competition was held at The Founders Inn and Spa, Virginia Beach, VA, June 8-12, 2011 and included 15 teams representing colleges and universities around the world.

Davis, California – April 29, 2011. Schilling Robotics, LLC, experts in subsea systems, announced today that C-Innovation has placed a contract for multiple ROV systems in support of their expanding international operations. This contract includes the supply of both HD™ and UHD™ work class ROV systems that will be deployed globally, including Brazil and Singapore. This continued expansion of C-Innovation’s ROV fleet with a mix of the HD™ and UHD™ systems will broaden their regional capabilities and target markets…

College Students from the United States and Canada will bring their robotic boats to Virginia Beach to compete for up to $20,000 in prize money. The event, the second International Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV) Competition, is being sponsored by the U.S. Office of Naval Research and the Washington, DC-based Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Foundation. The competition will occur June 18-21 at the Founder’s Inn and Spa in Virginia Beach. The small lake on the resort’s property will be turned into the site of a simulated shipwreck of a ferry boat with passengers awaiting rescue. The student-built boats will be challenged to navigate a treacherous series of dangerous reefs and dock with the sinking ferry to rescue the passengers.

The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SSC) hosted the 11th Annual International Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competition at Naval Base Point Loma in , July 28-Aug. 3. The event was co-sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). The competition challenged young engineers to design and build autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV). It also encouraged contestants to consider a career in developing AUV technologies for the Navy. "Competitions such as this are a huge benefit to the Navy," said Capt. Mark Kohlheim, commanding officer, SSC San Diego. "There is a large interest in unmanned vehicles, and these competitions serve to put the theoretical into practical applications for the students involved.

As part of the Naval Sea Systems Command's efforts to become more efficient throughout the organization, the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) are being realigned. This will allow the centers to operate across organizational boundaries and respond more quickly and effectively to the needs of the Fleet. The realignment is the result of NAVSEA's focus to support Sea Power 21 and the Chief of Naval Operations' unique challenge to NAVSEA's leadership to find ways to become more efficient and effective. This new concept of operations for the warfare centers will do that, and it will also improve the credibility and standing of the warfare centers within the Navy and meet Navy cost-savings targets. COMNAVSEA, VADM Phillip M.

Deep Ocean Engineering Inc. (DOE) appointed Kenneth Cast as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Cast, a veteran of the international offshore industry for over 25 years, brings a track record to DOE in all aspects of underwater vehicle systems, both manned and un-manned. His extensive experience in manufacturing, operations, product design, marketing and sales of ROV systems will direct the company’s future growth and development to meet customer demands. Cast’s primary responsibilities include promotion of Deep Ocean’s products and services to open new international markets, including directing the development of a new class of ROV for severe operating environments using Deep Ocean’s 20-years of experience and innovative engineering capabilities.

Knorr-Bremse AG, Munich announced that it has assumed operational control of Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC from Honeywell International Inc. As part of the transaction, Knorr-Bremse acquired Honeywell's minority interest in Knorr-Bremse Systeme fur Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH of Munich, Germany and Knorr-Bremse Sistemas Para Veiculos Comerciasis Brasil Ltda of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The deal has passed review by U.S. regulatory authorities. Honeywell and the supervisory board of Knorr-Bremse have given their approval for the transaction late last year.The move completes the Knorr-Bremse international network. Four Bendix development and manufacturing…

Lockheed Martin Corp. Maritime Systems and Sensors of Manassas won a $6.7m contract from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command for the design and development of the integrated common processor system for maritime surveillance systems. General Dynamics Robotic Systems of Westminster won an $8.5m contract from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in San Diego for two unmanned surface vehicle systems for the littoral combat ship anti-submarine warfare mission module.

Gems Sensors & Controls (Gems), a leader in liquid level, pressure, and flow sensors and miniature solenoid valves, today announced the appointment of Muriel Bras-Jorge to the position of President. Bras-Jorge, an executive with deep experience in engineering, lean manufacturing, and business development has held executive level positions at Jacobs Vehicle Systems Inc. (JVS), a Danaher company and Honeywell International Inc. Mrs. Bras-Jorge will have global responsibility for Gems which includes global sales and manufacturing facilities in Plainville and New Britain, Connecticut; Basingstoke, England; and all other global assets including Europe and Asia. Prior to her Business Development role, Mrs. Bras-Jorge was Vice President and General Manager of Medium Duty at JVS.