Tag: Autonomy

The Gibbs & Cox Approach to Developing Autonomous and Unmanned Ship Designs our Clients Can Trust

Posted on by Cody Prince

Meeting the needs of our clients and ensuring they receive the highest quality products are our top priorities. In order to provide the highest quality unmanned ship designs and autonomous systems, we partner with innovative, cross-domain Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution providers and reliable, proven shipyards who are our clients can trust.

From initial concept to sustainment and final design, Gibbs & Cox, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos, leverages decades of cutting-edge naval architecture with industry leading marine engineering original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to provide our clients with a product they can rely on.

Our customers benefit from our:Unmanned ship designs

  • 90+ years of successful military, commercial, and recreational ship designs.
  • Unmanned Maritime Autonomy Architecture (UMAA) ecosystem.
  • Plug-and-Play technology which prevents AI vendor lock.
  • CYBERSAFE system boundaries and hardened Information Technology and Operational Technology (IT/OT).

How We Apply Marine Autonomy to Complex Situations

When an unmanned ship is expected to perform more than a transit mission between point A and point B, autonomy becomes a much more complex problem. An unmanned military ship is expected to perform the same self-navigation and control functions as an unmanned commercial ship but must also factor in the additional requirements of performing complex mission evolutions in hostile environments. Technical challenges in advancing USV technology include maneuverability, self-maintenance, communication, and cooperative employment of multiple USVs working tougher autonomy. Gibbs & Cox is committed to solving these challenges and advancing the potential of unmanned ship design.

Our Approach to Hull, Mechanical & Electrical (HM&E) Autonomy Integration

To achieve designs capable of long duration missions without human intervention, we collaborate with industry and R&D leaders in HM&E system design. These collaborations provide the necessary reliability and Artificial Intelligence to develop unmanned ships that can monitor, predict, and diagnose performance declines and failures, and then self-adjust its use of available resources to continue meeting ongoing mission requirements.

Below are several features that are key to the integration of HM&E Autonomy Systems. G&C is an experienced provider of each service:

  • Smart actuators (e.g. motorized valves)
  • Four-part Intelligent Fault Management System
  • Prognosis
  • Diagnosis
  • Active learning
  • Reconfiguration

Learn More About Our Approach to Autonomous and Unmanned Ship Designs

Why G&C is the Right Partner for Autonomous and Unmanned Ship Innovation

Posted on by dcadmin

Finding the right partner can be challenging, no matter the task, but when you need to develop an unmanned ship, how do you know which partner is right for you?

As an independent design agent, Gibbs & Cox is an ideal partner for small, independent teams looking to increase autonomous and unmanned ship capability while reducing overhead and associated costs.

Our Approach to Hull, Mechanical & Electrical (HM&E) Autonomy Integration

Standard with our design, our ability to monitor, predict, and diagnose protentional performance deteriorations and failures in an HM&E system is critical to the success of a long-term unmanned ship deployment, which is essential to our clients’ success.

In order to achieve long durations without human intervention, we collaborate with industry and R&D leaders in HM&E system design, reliability, and Artificial Intelligence to develop unmanned ships that can meet these standards.

Below are several features that are key to the development of HM&E Autonomy Systems. G&C is an experienced provider of each service:

  • Robust HM&E system with redundant elements and interconnectivities
  • MOSA (Modular Open Systems Architecture) software implementation including reusable interfaces to both higher level autonomy elements and HM&E components
  • Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)-based machinery automation
  • Embedded sensors
  • Active learning

Developing Cutting-Edge Unmanned and Autonomous Vessel Designs our Customers Can Trust

From concept to sustainment, Gibbs & Cox combines decades of cutting-edge naval architecture with industry leading marine engineering original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to provide our clients with a product they can trust. We partner with innovative, cross-domain Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution providers and reputable shipyards to deliver the best value for our clients.

Our dedication to the advancement of autonomous and unmanned ships has led us to win several notable awards, including:

Learn More About Our Autonomous and Unmanned Ship Innovations

 

How Gibbs & Cox Develops Innovative Marine Autonomy Solutions

Posted on by dcadmin

G&C is a leading ship designer and integrator of autonomous systems for government and commercial clients. Our understanding of marine autonomy goes further than the implementation of navigation and control. Our experience developing autonomous vessels for our range of clients starts with a deep understanding of autonomy, the associated challenges, and our willingness to team with the best in the industry.

Developing the Future of Marine Autonomy

Marine Autonomy

Our initial implementation of marine autonomy dates back to 1955, when the U.S. Navy commenced the production of the project SEA LEGS. We developed an automated system that actively controlled two submerged hydrofoils in order to influence the pitch and roll attitude of the vessel in flight. This first application of actively controlled foils provided ride quality and safety that was superior to other vessels with fixed hydrofoil.

To this day, we remain on the cutting edge of technology and development of the Navy’s next generation of unmanned vessels. From concept to sustainment, we combine decades of naval architecture experience with the world’s most reliable marine engineering original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to deliver revolutionary technology to our clients.

Our dedication to advancing our unmanned and autonomous capabilities has led to us winning several notable awards, including:

Solving Complex Marine Autonomy Challenges

Marine autonomy often becomes more complex when an unmanned surface vessel (USV) is expected to perform more than a transit mission between points. Mission complexity is a key distinction between military and commercial applications. An autonomous vessel designed for military application is expected to perform self-navigation and control functions, but with the added requirements of performing complex mission evolutions in hostile environments. Gibbs & Cox is dedicated to solving these challenges for our clients and both investigating and advancing the exciting potential of marine autonomy.

Some of the technical challenges which Gibbs & Cox is proactively solving in the marine autonomy field are:

  • Maneuverability (particularly for large vehicles)
  • Endurance (range and persistence)
  • Reliability (redundancy, self-maintenance and self-repair of systems and equipment)
  • Communications (high speed, reliable and secure)
  • Cooperative employment of multiple USVs working together autonomously

Ethical and legal challenges in advancing USV technology include:

  • Safety of the USV and the vessels or objects it encounters
  • Security of the USV (physical and cyber)
  • Autonomous employment of weapon systems (offensive and defensive)

Give us a call to learn about how our expertise in marine autonomy can benefit you.