Tech firm to continue development of US Navy autonomous vessels for explosive ordnance disposal

Greensea IQ has been awarded an extension to its prototype (other transaction agreement) with the Defense Innovation Unit and the US Navy following the successful completion to Phase three of the Autonomous Expeditionary Maritime Response Vehicle (AEMRV) prototype last fall.

Greensea IQ said the objective of this contract modification is to demonstrate a production-ready edge processing configuration of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) workspace deployed in Greensea’s IQNS, with the autonomy and automatic target recognition (ATR) components. Upon completion, the technology will help ensure greater safety of US Navy EOD technicians.

IQNS provides an NVIDIA edge processor, integrated fibre optic gyro, aiding navigation sensors, and Greensea’s patented navigation solution for small underwater robots. IQNS is designed as an upgrade solution for systems currently running Greensea’s defence software suite and is used throughout Greensea’s own robot product line.

Greensea is augmenting IQNS for this program with advanced autonomy capabilities for acquiring, classifying, and eventually neutralising subsea threats while maintaining a significant standoff for EOD personnel. This new development is capable of upgrading the existing fleet of VideoRay remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) currently employed by the US Navy and other defence operators.

The Phase four objective of this contract focuses on further developing the EOD workspace to incorporate advanced AI features such as target classification using sonar and “operator assist” autonomy while in an untethered or long-range standoff configuration.

These enhancements will significantly improve the operational capabilities of ROVs currently used by EOD forces and creates scale and safety for personnel charged with clearing threats from maritime environments.