Huntington Ingalls Industries showcase new Proteus vessel

Huntington Ingalls Industries has announced the debut of the Proteus unmanned surface vessel (USV) for testing and development of autonomous capabilities.

The 27ft Proteus USV was outfitted with Sea Machines Robotics’ SM300 autonomy system and completed a successful demonstration on 14 May.

For the demonstration, the Proteus was equipped with commercial perception sensors, including GPS; automatic identification system; depth transducer; radar and a camera enabling 360˚ field of view.

Huntington Ingalls deployed a separate 51ft dive boat during the demonstration to illustrate SM300 system’s off-the-shelf solution, including its obstacle avoidance capability and adherence to the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.

The Proteus USV will enable Huntington Ingalls’ continued development of autonomous capabilities and sensor fusion to support the evolving needs of both government and commercial customers.

Huntington Ingalls announced its minority share investment in Sea Machines in July 2020.

Sea Machines’ SM300 system can be outfitted to ocean capable vessels to enable scalable autonomy, from remotely controlled to fully autonomous vessel operations.

According to Shephard Defence Insight, the vessel comprises a multi-mission vessel capable of being re-roled as a swimmer delivery vehicle to support the full spectrum of special operations.