Partnership to equip autonomous vessels for maritime surveillance

UAE boatbuilder and defence technology company Milkor has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with surveillance sensors specialist HGH to expand their partnership in unmanned surface vessels (USVs) and autonomous surface vessels (ASVs) as well as maritime surveillance.

The MOU will allow for deeper cooperation by the two companies on the development of unmanned technology, especially autonomous COLREGS using marine-optimised thermal cameras developed by HGH for installation on Milkor's range of unmanned vessels.

The MOU will also allow for better integration of HGH's range of thermal cameras with Milkor's vessels, thus enabling both companies to provide increased capability to end users.

The cameras to be supplied by HGH will feature high-resolution panoramic capability capturing full 360-degree infrared images. This enables the cameras to be operated in marine environments with unique challenges that can render conventional surveillance methods ineffective.

The cameras will also be capable of detecting intrusions in multiple directions. Such intrusions will appear on both thermal and visible windows.