Nauticus Robotics Launches 2nd Gen. Aquanaut Subsea Robots

Subsea autonomous robot maker Nauticus Robotics on Thursday announced the start of commissioning exercises for the first of three second-generation Aquanauts, dubbed the ‘Mark 2’ (MK2).

Nauticus, which builds autonomous robots using artificial intelligence for data collection and intervention services for the ocean industries, said that following commissioning, it expects to send the initial Aquanaut MK2 units to the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico in the coming months to support customer initiatives in those regions.

"The Aquanaut MK2 is a fully electric, untethered, and autonomous subsea robot that is controlled through acoustic communication networking and underpinned by Nauticus’ proprietary software suite, toolKITT. The artificial intelligence-based software suite allows for robotic controls, user interfaces, sensor integration, simulation, data analysis, and communication frameworks purpose-built to enable subsea work," Nauticus said.

"Aquanaut MK2’s defining capability is operating in two separate modes, actively transforming itself between the excursion and intervention configurations.

Excursion mode involves the usage of data collection and perception sensors, while intervention mode utilizes two of Nauticus’ Olympic Arms – electric work-class manipulators – to perform precise yet powerful interactions with subsea infrastructure and objects to complete complex, underwater tasks," the company said.

“The delivery of our initial second-generation Aquanauts is a significant milestone that accelerates our mission to disrupt the offshore ocean services industry while setting a benchmark for next-generation subsea technology that will fundamentally revolutionize how the industry operates,” said Nicolaus Radford, founder, and CEO of Nauticus. 

"This splashdown allows us to remain on track to deliver two additional Aquanauts by mid-year, which are already committed to fulfill customer demands, as we continue to execute on our commercial pipeline and expand the breadth of our world-class portfolio.”