Autonomous Vessel Mission Control Centre for ASV Global

Mark Garnier MP and UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, has opened a Mission Control Centre developed by ASV Global at its headquarters in Portchester, UK. This centre is the hub for the company’s ongoing development of its ASView® autonomous vessel control system. The centre will be capable of operating and monitoring the company’s fleet of autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) all over the world using satellite communication links and it can also be used for operator training and simulation exercises.

The centre has been partly funded under Innovate UK funding awarded to the company in 2015 under a project called ‘Unmanned Safe Maritime Operations Over the Horizon’ which tasked ASV Global’s team of autonomous system engineers to research and develop both the technology and the regulatory requirements of operating autonomous vessels over the horizon.

Technical Director Richard Daltry said  that as a result of this Innovate UK project and their portfolio of complimentary research and development programmes, ASV Global is ready to start real world testing of their autonomous over the horizon control system. This Mission Control Centre is instrumental in the continuing developments and will contribute to achieve advanced, safe, autonomous operations at sea.

In September 2016, ASV Global signed a licencing agreement with The Ministry of Defence allowing for the use of the Advanced Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) Capability technology developed using funding via Dstl. Using the funding ASV Global was able to demonstrate advanced autonomous navigation at the Royal Navy’s Unmanned Warrior exercise in October 2016 and more recently in the Solent. This technology is being integrated with the Innovate UK project developments.

ASV Global is a world leading developer of autonomous vessel technology.  The company designs, builds and operates ASVs and their control systems on a global basis. Products are available for lease and purchase alongside comprehensive support and training packages. ASV Global has produced more than 80 vehicles and developed more than 30 different payload packages.  The company has also converted numerous existing vessels to operate autonomously.  With offices in the UK, USA and Brazil, ASV’s 80+ employees support commercial, scientific, and military clients across the globe.