NAUTILUS: Planning an Offshore Patrol USV Pilot
An illustrative pilot plan for maritime autonomy, disconnected operation and controlled vessel commands. NAUTILUS is in development; no customer deployment or measured results are claimed.
Illustrative case study. This proposed offshore patrol scenario is not a customer deployment. NAUTILUS is in development. No sea-trial results, approvals or performance savings are claimed.
The task: offshore observation with intermittent coverage
An infrastructure operator wants to evaluate a USV for observing activity around an offshore asset. The boat needs selected cameras, communications, a defined operating area and a route to manual control. The pilot must establish what it can do locally and when it must follow a contingency.
Start with equipment and operating limits
The builder and AIC would agree the propulsion interface, sensors, onboard host and permitted control functions. BRIDGE would connect equipment through documented adapters. HORIZON would provide camera observations; RECKON would assess position, heading and speed with source quality and uncertainty. Each function needs representative testing.
Define who can command the boat
Test WATCH’s command checks with an unauthorised operator, an expired instruction and a request outside agreed limits. Demonstrate manual takeover and physical emergency arrangements on the vessel.
Test a communications outage
A proposed mission package would set the patrol area, reserves, required data and contingencies. Interrupt the link under controlled conditions. Inspect whether continued operation remains authorised and whether the vessel follows its contingency when a condition fails. Compare the journal with observed behaviour after reconnection.
Evidence before an operational decision
Review equipment compatibility, navigation uncertainty, observations, command rejection, link recovery and takeover. WAVE and SHACE require a reviewed security profile, endpoint checks and key-lifecycle testing. Use the evidence to assess further trials. This scenario does not establish regulatory compliance or readiness.
Plan a NAUTILUS evaluation
Bring the vessel specification, equipment, operating area and supervision requirements. AIC can discuss the integration scope and tests needed for a first pilot.
Explore NAUTILUS for offshore infrastructure