Image credit scores: Sea Machines

Boston- based Sea Machines Robotics has actually partnered with Maine Maritime Academy and also the UNITED STATE Maritime Administration to bring hands-on education and learning concerning independent aquatic systems right into the Mixed Martial Arts educational program.

Founded in 2015, Sea Machines is a leading programmer of independent command and also control systems for aquatic surface area vessels.

Under the program, Mixed Martial Arts will certainly supply guideline to cadets making use of Mixed Martial Arts’s 41-ft Coast Guard cutter-class workboat R/V Quickwater, which is being equipped currently with Sea Machines’ SM300 independent control system, and also a shoreside command terminal situated on school.

According to a declaration, Mixed Martial Arts trainees will certainly regulate and also manage the independent vessel in the Castine Harbor and also bordering locations from the shoreside terminal. A main emphasis of the program will certainly be to show and also record independent vessel modern technology’s capability to boost at-sea situational recognition, security, power performance, functional efficiency and also the ecological influence thereof.

“While learning about autonomous systems and their impact on the future of the commercial marine industry, project managers and MMA students will measure the vessel’s emissions output to determine the precise efficiencies gained, documenting differences among various engines, equipment and sea states. During these hands-on trials, participants will collect additional data about the vessel’s situational awareness and operational performance, predictability and safety during missions,” the declaration claimed.

“The importance of this partnership extends beyond providing quantitative data for what we already know – that autonomous technology can be leveraged to improve vessels’ operational efficiency, productivity and predictability while reducing at-sea navigation incidents. This project is ultimately about preparing future merchant marine officers with the training and skills they will need to command the digital, data-driven commercial fleets of the 21st century. We also anticipate that this initiative will further accelerate the multi-user operational review and validation of human-in-the-loop autonomous systems,” claimed Sea Machines’ Michael G. Johnson, Chief Executive Officer. “MMA and MARAD have been tremendous partners and we look forward to working with them on this project and others like it in the future.”

“The goal of this initiative is to expand Maine Maritime’s current research portfolio and to provide our students with the opportunity to gain education and training on new ‘smart vessel technology.’ The cutting edge technology will enhance students’ awareness of and use of such systems, which are quickly entering the maritime industry,” claimed Mixed Martial Arts’s Jennifer Norwood, assistant teacher, aquatic transport. “In addition to supporting our students, we look forward to providing the META Program with the data it needs to understand how advanced marine technologies can impact maritime operations and sustainability.”

The program is enabled with MARAD’s Maritime Environmental and also Technical Assistance (META) Program.