Page 34: of Marine Technology Magazine (June 2020)

FEATURE Geophysical Seismic Survey

Photo: AutoNaut

AutoNaut “shepherding” the Remus UUV during operations (the shepherding back to a safe zone was done mostly when the UUV was underwater).

Autonomous ANTX

By Elaine Maslin eophysical seismic surveys for marine operations management. – and how metal hulls were a counter and port security may ap- Dave Gentle, Vice President of Business measure. “While threats to harbors have pear to have little in-com- Development, spoke about the frm’s evolved at a slow pace, we’re now in a

G mon. However, it turns out involvement in last year’s ANTX (Ad- period where there’s a rapid advance in that managing complex marine seismic vanced Naval Technology Exercise) in autonomous systems, underwater ve- operations, where 10km-long seismic the US – a project which involved detect- hicles, where technology is improving streamers have to be deployed harmoni- ing and managing a diverse array of as- and is more easily available to people ously alongside other offshore marine sets, including potential security threats. around the world,” he told the Marine assets, isn’t that dissimilar to managing He says underwater threats are increas- and Autonomous Technology Showcase – and protecting – port facilities. ingly dynamic and diverse and therefore event in Southampton late last year.

It's an area that ION Geophysical, increasingly challenging. Gentle recalls “It’s not a giant leap to imagine these more known for seismic data acquisition the use of an early submarine, the Tur- vehicles can be repurposed to make ex- technology, has recently been proving tle, in the American revolutionary war plosive devices or be used for other de- its expertise in, using its Marlin system in 1775, as an example of a new threat vious ends.”

June 2020 34

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