Austal Australia and Greenroom Robotics announced on 18 September that they have entered a strategic commercial partnership to develop watercraft platforms and solutions aimed at reduced crewing as well as possible remote and autonomous operation of vessels designed and constructed by Austal Australia.
The announcement of the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) comes after the successful conclusion of the Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT) for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
“The Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial highlighted Austal and Greenroom Robotics’ respective expertise in naval platform integration, and navigation and situational awareness systems technology to demonstrate a reliable, remote and autonomous-capable vessel,” said Australia Chief Technology Officer Dr Glenn Callow.
Austal earlier announced in April that it had completed sea acceptance and endurance trials for the PBAT programme.
The remote and autonomous navigation trials used a testbed – the decommissioned Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Armidale-class patrol boat HMAS Maitland (renamed Sentinel) – and were conducted off the Western Australian coastline during March and April 2024.
The 57m-long Sentinel was extensively modified to support remote and autonomous operations, including enhancements to computing, communications, bilges, electrical and sensor systems.
Austal Australia noted that the trials used Greenroom Robotics’ Advanced Maritime Autonomy (GAMA) software for autonomous navigation of Sentinel with a number of project team members, observers and a crew from International Maritime Services (IMS) for observation and manual interventions.
According to the company, PBAT is a collaborative effort between Austal Australia, Greenroom Robotics, Trusted Autonomous Systems (TAS) and the navy’s Warfare Innovation Navy (WIN) branch to deliver a proof-of-concept demonstrator capable of optionally crewed or autonomous operations. The trial was also aimed at exploring the legal requirements of operating an autonomous vessel.
“Further, this Agreement aligns directly with the AUKUS Pillar 2 objective to develop advanced military capabilities, including autonomy and both Austal and Greenroom Robotics are ready to pursue opportunities that we hope one day, will be integral features of future Australian, UK and US naval vessels,” noted Dr Callow.
by Jr Ng
