Intelligent ocean solutions provider Greensea IQ announced on 19 August 2024 that it has received an extension to its Other Transaction Agreement with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) of the US Department of Defense (DoD) and US Navy following the successful completion to Phase 3 of the Autonomous Expeditionary Maritime Response Vehicle (AEMRV) prototype last year.
The objective of this contract modification is to demonstrate a production-ready edge processing configuration of Greensea IQ’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Workspace, which is an open-architecture operating environment for marine robots working in EOD and mine countermeasure (MCM) operations. This configuration, known as EOD Edge, will be deployed with Greensea’s IQNS with autonomy and automatic target recognition (ATR) components.
The contract extension signifies a closer step to providing this enabling technology to US Navy EOD technicians.
IQNS, which is the latest model in Greensea’s inertial navigation system (INS) product line, provides an Nvidia edge processor, integrated fibre-optic gyro, aiding navigation sensors and Greensea’s patented navigation solution for small underwater robots. It 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 programme with advanced autonomy capabilities for acquiring, classifying and eventually neutralising subsea threats while maintaining a significant standoff distance for EOD personnel. This new development is capable of upgrading the existing fleet of VideoRay Defender remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) currently employed by the US Navy and other defence forces.
The Phase 4 objective of this contract focuses on further developing EOD Edge to incorporate advanced artificial intelligence (AI) features such as target classification using sonar and ‘operator assist’ autonomy while in an untethered or long-range standoff configuration. These enhancements significantly improve the operational capabilities of ROVs, such as the VideoRay Defender, currently used by EOD forces and create scale and safety for personnel charged with clearing threats from maritime environments, according to Greensea IQ.
“We are really excited about this opportunity to continue working with DIU and the navy in the AEMRV programme,” Ben Kinnaman, founder and CEO of Greensea IQ, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “I believe in this mission and I believe in the role technology can play in creating safety and scale for these critical operations.
“The concepts of autonomy and AI foster ideas of futuristic robots replacing humans and the way we work on the ocean. In reality, autonomy and AI, at almost any stage of development, can aid humans and how we work on the ocean,” Kinnaman added. “In this case, these technologies will keep warfighters safe, provide them a greater reach and give them an opportunity to do more with less. It is awesome the DoD is pursuing this common-sense application of cutting-edge technology.”
The upgraded VideoRay Defender ROVs, featuring EOD Edge, will provide a robust solution for underwater EOD tasks. The integration of sonar-based target classification and ‘operator assist’ autonomy enables more accurate threat detection and neutralisation.
The technologies productised under this programme will bring upgrades to Greensea’s EOD Edge software package, the edge processing solution for EOD Workspace and an integrated solution with navigation and processing through IQNS. A lighter-weight deployment through IQNS Mini will also be available.
IQNS with EOD Edge will be available in the fourth quarter of 2024 on Greensea’s Bayonet product line of autonomous underwater ground vehicles and for the VideoRay Defender in defence applications.
