Sea Machines Robotics is a Boston, MA-based

startup A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship includes all new businesses including self-employment and businesses that do not intend to ...

that is developing

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be defi ...

control and navigation systems for the commercial marine and boating industries.

Overview

Sea Machines Robotics was founded in 2015 as an idea to marine engineer Michael G. Johnson while he was working on an oil-spill response team in the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

. Sea Machines systems equips ships and workboats with autonomous systems that allow them to work remotely, increase safety for maritime crews and improve operator productivity. The company operates its headquarters from Boston, MA, with a test fleet operating in the

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, located adjacent to Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the Northeastern United States. History 17th century Since its dis ...

. In 2017, Sea Machines raised $1.5 million in seed financing from lead investor Launch Capital, along with Accomplice VC, LDV Capital, the Geekdom Fund and Techstars. The company closed a $10 million Series A investment round in 2018, led by Accomplice, Eniac Ventures, Toyota AI Ventures;

Brunswick Corp Brunswick Corporation, formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, is an American corporation that has been developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of products since 1845. Brunswick has more than 13,000 employees in ...

. (through TechNexus Venture Collaborative); NextGen VP, Geekdom Fund; LaunchCapital and LDV Capital. The round brought the total capital Sea Machines had raised to $12.5 million. Also in 2018, Sea Machines expanded internationally by opening a second office in

Hamburg, Germany Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. In April 2018, the company entered an agreement with A.P. Moller-Maersk, of Copenhagen, to trial its in-development advanced perception and situational awareness technology aboard a Maersk Winter Palace ice-class container ship. The installation is the first time computer vision,

Light Detection and Ranging Lidar (, also LIDAR, an acronym of "light detection and ranging" or "laser imaging, detection, and ranging") is a method for determining ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to r ...

(LiDAR) and perception software has been utilized aboard a container vessel to augment and upgrade transit operations. In July 2020, the company closed a $15 million financing round with participation by

Huntington Ingalls Industries Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII) is the largest military shipbuilding company in the United States as well as a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. HII, ranked No. 375 on the Fortune 500, was formed ...

(HII). The investment round was led by Accomplice with further participation by Toyota AI Ventures, Brunswick Corp. (TechNexus), Geekdom Fund, NextGen Venture Partners, Eniac VC, LaunchCapital and others. Later that year, in October, the company announced that it had completed its $20M investment goal with the second close of $5M.The latest round was funded by investors Brunswick Corporation and their investment partner TechNexus, Toyota AI Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, and new Sea Machines investor, Dolby Family Ventures. The company has raised a total of $32.3 million to date.

Vessel Control Systems

In 2018, Sea Machines released its line of intelligent autonomous command and remote-control systems for workboats and other vessels to commercial markets. SM300 Autonomous Command and Control The SM300 autonomous-command and remote-helm control system enable autonomous control of workboats from a secondary location, which could include an on-vessel location outside of the wheelhouse, from a second vessel, or from a shoreside location. In August 2019, Sea Machines demonstrated the capabilities of its SM300 aboard a manned Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC) skimming vessel as it executed oil-spill recovery exercises in the harbor for the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (

MARAD Marad (Sumerian: Marda, modern Tell Wannat es-Sadum or Tell as-Sadoum (also Wana-Sedoum), Iraq) was an ancient Near Eastern city. Marad was situated on the west bank of the then western branch of the Upper Euphrates River west of Nippur in moder ...

). In May 2019, Sea Machines partnered with Hike Metal, a manufacturer of workboats based in

Ontario, Canada Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, to integrate the SM300 aboard commercial vessels tasked with

search-and-rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

(SAR) missions. SM200 Remote-Helm Control System The SM200 remote-helm control system enables wireless helm and propulsion control, as well as remote control of auxiliaries and payload equipment, freeing mariners from the wheelhouse to conduct operations from any location that offers the greatest visibility and safety. In 2020, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and

American Bureau of Shipping The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) is an American maritime classification society established in 1862. Its stated mission is to promote the security of life, property, and the natural environment, primarily through the development and verific ...

(ABS) approved the SM200 for installation aboard a class of U.S.-flag tugboats that support articulated tug-barge (ATB) sets. JETSense Intelligent Voyage Control In partnership with HamiltonJet, Sea Machines launched a new intelligent voyage control product, JETsense, for commercial waterjet vessels that utilizes autonomous navigation, multi-sensor fusion and computer vision. JETsense utilizes Artificial Intelligence (AI) and autonomy to perceive the domain and maintain precise control of steering and speed during a voyage and re-route to avoid traffic and obstacles.

Class & Regulator Approvals

Bureau Veritas Type Approval for Wireless Control Technology (2022)

Bureau Veritas Bureau Veritas is a French company specialized in testing, inspection and certification founded in 1828. It operates in a variety of sectors, including building and infrastructure (27% of revenue), agri-food and commodities (23% of revenue), mar ...

granted Type Approval to Sea Machines' commercial wireless remote-control helm system in 2022. This Type Approval includes the wireless control technology embedded in both Sea Machines’ SM200 and SM300 systems, and ensures the technology has undergone rigorous third-party testing and certification to meet the stringent demands of Classification and Flag State requirements for critical equipment on board marine vessels. USCG and ABS Approvals for SM200 Wireless Helm Aboard Tugboats Supporting ATBs (2020) The U.S. Coast Guard and

approved Sea Machines' SM200 commercial wireless helm for installation aboard a class of U.S.-flag tugboats that support articulated tug-barge (ATB) sets. The two bodies granted their approvals after reviewing Sea Machines’ technology and the SM200's applications aboard these tugs, deeming the system satisfactory for shipboard installation and trials.

Projects

U.S. Department of Defense's

Defense Innovation Unit The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), also called Unit X, is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) organization founded to help the U.S. military make faster use of emerging commercial technologies. Launched in 2015, the organization has been c ...

(2020-2021) In October 2020, the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...

engaged Sea Machines to engineer, build and demonstrate ready-to-deploy autonomy system kits that transform existing commercial barges to autonomous platforms capable of landing and replenishing military aircraft. In August 2021, the Department of Defense allocated $3.1M to the project to transition Sea Machines' solution from the proof of concept stage to the design and trial stage, and ultimately bringing the prototype equipment kits to life. Collaboration with Rolls-Royce (2021) In September 2021,

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

and Sea Machines collaborated to develop and sell remote command, autonomous control and intelligent crew support systems for the marine market. The collaboration offers autonomy solutions for yachts, as well as commercial and government vessels. The Machine Odyssey (2021) Sea Machines accomplished a long-haul remotely-commanded autonomous navigation mission in October 2021 called The Machine Odyssey. Using a Damen-built tugboat named ''

Nellie Bly Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman (born Elizabeth Jane Cochran; May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922), better known by her pen name Nellie Bly, was an American journalist who was widely known for her record-breaking circumnavigation, trip around the world ...

'' outfitted with the Sea Machines SM300, the vessel autonomously navigated more than 1,000 nautical miles over 13 days around the Danish islands of

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

, and Laeso and north to

Skagen Skagen () is the northernmost town in Denmark, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in North Denmark Region, Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalbo ...

, then down through the Kiel Canal to Hamburg, Germany. The vessel was remotely commanded by merchant marine officers stationed over 3,000 miles away in Boston, MA.{{Cite web, last=Garsten, first=Ed, title=Autonomous Tug Finds Its Way Home, url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/edgarsten/2021/10/20/autonomous-tug-odyssey-completed/, access-date=2021-10-21, website=Forbes, language=en

References

Navigation system companies