A new unmanned surface vehicle (USV) developed by French maritime robotics company Exail recently completed an initial round of sea trials.
The craft is designed for long-duration operations of up to 30 days. Exail said it benefits from an autonomy of 3,500 nautical miles and can deploy multiple payloads and subsea assets.
The USV was designed to be capable of withstanding severe ocean conditions. The craft also has a hybrid propulsion system while provisions will be available for the installation of AI-enabled obstacle detection and avoidance systems.
The USV's large size allows for a range of payloads including multi-beam echosounders, sub-bottom profilers, and acoustic subsea positioning and communication systems. The craft also features a launch and recovery system to deploy remotely operated towed vehicles (ROTVs), inspection-class remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).
Exail said the new transoceanic USV is particularly suited for full ocean depth scientific and hydrographic surveys, geophysical and UXO surveys, and subsea infrastructure inspections, which may require the deployment of multiple robots.