Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics innovator Advanced Navigation has launched the largest subsea robotics facility in Australia, located in Balcatta, Western Australia (WA).
The high-tech manufacturing and research and development (R&D) facility will accelerate the production of the company’s revolutionary underwater technologies, including its autonomous underwater robot, Hydrus.
“Now more than ever, there is a need to open up the earth’s oceans, to make data and knowledge more accessible to global communities, research institutions and governments. Western Australia has always been an exploration hub for ocean discoveries,” said Xavier Orr, CEO and co-founder, Advanced Navigation.
“The new subsea centre will help Advanced Navigation meet the growing demand for high-grade underwater data, bringing new and existing solutions to market far more quickly and efficiently. With the goal to grow our subsea team threefold, we are confident this investment will deepen and advance our understanding of the oceans.”
The subsea centre is located on a massive 5.5-acre site.
The facility is split between development and manufacturing for high volume production and continued research and expansion of subsea navigation and robotics technologies. This includes the growth of its underwater artificial intelligence division.
Advanced Navigation is a stalwart for independent, in-house design and vertical integration that has ushered in many innovations, including extreme miniaturisation of pressure-tolerant electronics, sophisticated sonar technologies and AI-based autonomous systems.
The new centre also includes full testing facilities with several marine simulation environments to ensure reliable performance and the highest quality production.
Advanced Navigation’s break-through underwater navigation and robotic technologies are utilised across the blue economy, supporting research, aquaculture, offshore renewable energy, transportation, surveillance, biotechnology and high-tech services.
The company’s recent autonomous underwater robot Hydrus makes undersea research, survey and exploration data far simpler and vastly more accessible. The Hydrus design synthesises numerous cutting-edge navigational, sonar, propulsion and data capture technologies with highly developed and sophisticated artificial neural network (ANN) intelligence.
With support from prominent research institutions including the University of Western Australia, Curtin University and philanthropic organisation Minderoo, Advanced Navigation continues to establish sustainable technologies to foster the growth of the blue economy.
“It’s exciting to see Advanced Navigation continue to grow its team of engineers in Western Australia. At UWA we are researching how natural and artificial reef structures can protect coastlines by dissipating wave energy – Hydrus is a key tool in mapping and surveying these underwater structures. The technology makes more efficient use of our funds and ultimately scales up our ability to collect high-resolution data,” said Justin Geldard, coastal and ocean researcher, University of Western Australia Ocean Institute.
The subsea centre is just one of several investments made by Advanced Navigation as it continues to expand its global reach and capabilities.
The company has established headquarters in Sydney with research centres throughout Australia, including Brisbane for aerial drone technology, Canberra for photonic and laser technology and Newcastle for quantum sensing.
In addition to novel autonomous subsea robotics, Advanced Navigation delivers AI-enhanced navigation technologies for land, sea, air and space applications. The company is committed to developing innovative products and systems that will be catalysts of the autonomy revolution.
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