Nichols Martin
Huntington Ingalls Industries has commenced testing of an unmanned surface vessel designed to traverse the waters autonomously.
HII said Thursday the Proteus USV demonstrated autonomous performance through its SM300 system made by Sea Machines Robotics.
During the May 14 demonstration, Proteus used GPS, radar technology, a 360-degree camera and other sensors to navigate waters off the coast of Panama City, Florida.
Duane Fotheringham, president of the unmanned systems business group within HII’s Technical Solutions division, said Proteus performed as designed to during the demonstration.
Sea Machines, which HII has invested in as a minority shareholder, designed SM300 to enable full autonomous operation of sea vessels.
HII will use Proteus to further develop autonomy and integrated sensor technologies.
“This marks a significant milestone in our commitment to advancing our unmanned systems capabilities and our continued partnership with Sea Machines to further develop USV solutions for our customers,” said Fotheringham.
