Page 21: of Marine Technology Magazine (September 2024)

MARKEY MACHINE LLC MISSION ROBOTICS INC. REACH ROBOTICS www.markeymachine.com https://www.missionrobotics.us/ reachrobotics.com

Founded in 1907, Markey Machine is Mission Robotics was founded in Reach Robotics is extending human the oldest privately-held winch manufac- 2020 with the goal of increasing the reach into harsh environments by cre- turer in the United States. Markey began speed of innovation in the marine ro- ating advanced manipulation and per- as a general industrial manufacturer, but in botics industry. The founders have ception systems. Its systems enable

WWI turned exclusively to deck machin- backgrounds in marine robotics as clients in mission-critical Defense ery as the U.S. Navy began ordering an- well as self-driving cars, aerial drones, and Commercial sectors to remotely chor windlasses in quantity. During WW NASA, and aerospace engineering. It inspect their infrastructure and inter-

II, Markey reached its peak employment took a clean sheet of paper approach vene in their environment. Its dexter- with 400 employees and 24/7 operations, to vehicle software and have built and ous manipulator systems multiply the again for the U.S. Navy, building winches deployed our software to control ROVs capability of industry-leading ROV especially for jeep tugs and liberty ships. ranging in size from 10kg to 500kg+. and AUVs and feature intuitive control

In the post-war period, Markey moved Our operating system, sensor fusion, options that can be piloted by a single into the workboat industry while working control loops, and intuitive pilot user operator. Reach Robotics was founded with vessels in deep-sea operations, with interface solve the challenges our cus- in 2016 and is headquartered in Syd- provision of oceanographic, traction, and tomers face today and lays the founda- ney, Australia.

other winches. Markey became heavily in- tion to tackle their future needs. Its latest manipulator technology, volved in the Alaskan north-slope opera- Mission Robotics has recently re- the Reach X Advanced Intervention tions, providing winches for tugs towing leased the latest major version of its System, is supported by eight years of barges from Seattle northward to Alaska, software. It takes the company’s frame- research, in-? eld testing, and collabo- and provided workboat winches for varied work, which our customers use to run ration with military end-users. Reach coast-wise towing and other operations 24/7 operations, and overhauls the state X is designed for critical commercial in other parts of the U.S. During the last estimation and control loops. Its sensor and military operations requiring hard- 20 years, Markey’s customer base has ex- fusion architecture and algorithms en- wearing, reliable technology. The de- panded into Australia, Mexico, and other able a wider range of navigation sen- sign prioritizes durability, dexterity, foreign markets. In 2023, the company sors to be used, even if they are from speed and portability in response to in- announced a standard 3-year warranty, different vendors. This allows our cus- dustry-speci? c operational needs. The which is unique in the ? eld. Markey is tomers to use the exact sensors they system is distinguished by its power to among the pioneers in electric winch- need and swap sensors easily. The state weight ratio among manipulators in its ing, embracing winches working aboard estimation provides our customers with size-class, packing unparalleled force

Active-Front End (AFE) con? gured precise station keeping during manu- into a compact form. The Reach X un- boats. Markey has also led the ? eld in ally piloted modes and enables higher derwater manipulator offers continu- constant-tension winch control, coin- level mission planning. Its electronics ous rotate joints and interchangeable ing the term “render/recover” as part and software platform, coupled with end-effector tooling.

of the ? rst prototypes developed in the our simulation capabilities, has dramat- mid-1990s. Markey further developed ically decreased the time to market for render/recover and trademarked its most our customers designing and building advanced form, the Markey Asymmetric new vehicles, reducing the time from

Render/Recover in 2004. months to days.

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