Join us on Mon Sep 16 2024 at the historic Herreshoff Marine Museum for an evening discussion and presentation featuring the latest innovations in marine robotics from the UK. Learn about cutting-edge technologies and advancements in underwater exploration. Don’t miss this opportunity to network with industry professionals and enthusiasts. See you there!

Over the course of five decades marine autonomous and robotic systems have come a long way, from being largely experimental and development platforms that operate subsea to being flexible surface and subsurface vehicles used for real-world applications that deliver true operational advantage in Energy, Defence, Ocean Science and wider sectors.

Kevin Forshaw (University of Plymouth) Ian Davies (EIVA), and Aidan Thorn (Sonardyne) have a combined 70+ years of experience working with marine technologies in the UK across the academic and research, Defence and Energy worlds. Through this presentation they will provide an overview of how the technology has developed in the UK and how those developments are now being utilised to deliver world firsts and novel operations at sea, reducing cost, carbon and keeping people safe. Learn how:

• Early development Autonomous Underwater Vehicles like Autosub developed from one platform to the largest fleet of marine robotics in Europe – delivering groundbreaking missions under ice shelves, month long unescorted missions and helped shaped how the Royal Navy adopted marine robotics
• Uncrewed Surface Vessels were developed to satisfy scientific needs and are now being deployed widely for commercial and defence applications
• Innovative operations and technologies like, collaborative fleets of marine robotic systems, remote operations centres and digital twin, data visualisation have been funded by the UK govt and are now being used to transform how we operate at sea
• Developers and operators have overcome the multitude of challenges that remote marine robots present, including, Cyber Security, Navigation, Communications, Data quality and validation, power management, regulation, training, trials and proving the technologies and so much more…

And then, learn about where the technology is heading now – including things like resident systems, fully autonomous operations, squads of robotics operating together and so on…

Kevin, Ian and Aidan will discuss their personal involvement in these technologies as well as what the organizations they are working for are doing and have done to advance the technology.

Ian Davies is Business Development Manager at EIVA with over 30 years’ experience in hydrography working across defence, energy, ocean sciences and coastal zone management. His career when not actively surveying, has seen him involved in product development, training, strategy and evaluation of new hydrographic sensors and techniques.

Kevin Forshaw is Director of Marine Business Development at the University of Plymouth, and is also Chair of Maritime UK South West, a clustering organisation that brings R&D active businesses together with Research base support. Previously at the UK’s National Oceanography Centre, Kevin set up the UK’s Marine Robotic Innovation Centre, and has been instrumental in setting up the University’s partnership with the Royal Navy in Plymouth.

Aidan Thorn is Business Development Manager Marine Robotics at Sonardyne and has 20+ years of experience of working in marine technology, including a 21 year stay at the UK National Oceanography Centre as Business Development and Marine Robotics Innovation Centre Manager. He is a member of the Marine Autonomous Systems Group (MASG) Council and the steering groups for the Marine Measurement Forum and Global Underwater Hub South