Page 16: of Marine Technology Magazine (September 2010)

Ocean Observation

Read this page in Pdf, Flash or Html5 edition of September 2010 Marine Technology Magazine

Interview: Bob Black, CEO, Seebyte investing in autonomous underwater vehicle technology and I feel we are in an ideal position to help progress with this, having invested a signifi- cant resources in the future of auton- omy.

What do you consider to be the biggest challenges to your company in terms of:

Legislation?

More than half of our revenues come from export, with the U.S Military as one of our main customers. The legis- lation involved in legally exporting software with potential military application remains a challenge for us.

Technical Matters?

I’d have to say that the global lack of standardization in data formats and the differing exchange of data between systems can at times prove a difficulty – especially since one of our main focuses is on the plug-and-play, simple to use concept of technology.

Competition?

In the past our biggest competitor has actually been the status-quo. It is hugely challenging to persuade large organizations like the military and oil companies to adapt to the latest advancements in software technology, even when doing so would be to their benefit. Perhaps surprisingly, in our experience government clients have been quicker on the uptake than large commercial organisations. As a small company, it can be difficult for our value propositions to gain sufficient traction and momentum to cut through established ways of doing things. 16 MTR September 2010

At its very core, SeeByte creates advanced software that’s used for managing unmanned and remote assets.

Bob Black, CEO, Seebyte

Marine Technology

Marine Technology Reporter is the world's largest audited subsea industry publication serving the offshore energy, subsea defense and scientific communities.