SeaRobotics Launches Utility Class ASV

Marine robotics company SeaRobotics Corporation (SRC) on Monday revealed details of its next-generation utility class autonomous surface vehicle (ASV), the SR-Utility 3.0. This latest addition to the SRC portfolio is designed to extend the range and versatility of unmanned coastal marine survey operations by providing professional surveyors with a configurable platform that allows for interchangeable payloads and sensors, including the incorporation of existing instrumentation.

“We have been building ASVs for over 20 years now and understand that there is always a need for some degree of customization when defining form and function, but increasingly we see surveyors demand systems that they themselves are capable of modifying to fit certain applications,” said Lou Dennis, VP of programs at SeaRobotics.

The launch of the SR-Utility 3.0 follows the 2019 introduction of the SR-Surveyor M1.8, a smaller, tightly integrated ASV designed specifically for the survey of shallow and hard-to-access areas. System compatibility was a key design principle for the new Utility Class ASV, and the SR-Utility 3.0 and SR-Surveyor M1.8 will share the same operator, survey and autonomy controls and unique SRC Uni-Cab architecture.

“The growing appetite for autonomous systems among commercial surveyors calls for ever more flexible and intuitive plug and play platforms like the SR-Utility 3.0, which offers a modular approach to set-up, intuitive interfacing, and—thanks to a shared common Uni-Cab architecture—the option of modular upgradeable expansion to multi-ASV deployments,” Dennis said.

One of the first confirmed contract awards is from CSA Ocean Sciences, a U.S.-based marine environmental consultancy firm that already uses a number of other SRC ASV models on large-scale environmental, hydrographic and geospatial survey projects.

Speaking of the order, CSA CEO, Kevin Peterson, said, “We are excited about the addition of the SR-Utility 3.0 to our existing fleet of SR-Surveyor M1.8s and the benefits that this breakthrough technology offers to our customers. Having a highly reliable and standardized suite of ASVs helps us maintain the same established crew training, spare parts, and support depots—it is ultimately about optimizing efficiency in the collection of precise data.”