Latest news with #AUV
Perth Now
a day ago
- Health
- Perth Now
Underwater robot makes grim discovery off Fremantle coast
An underwater robot drone has exposed the extent of a coral reef crisis right on North Fremantle's doorstep. A high-tech robot named Hydrus was deployed last month to capture photos and videos at Hall Bank Reef, which is just off the coast of Port Beach in North Fremantle. But when Dr Alec McGregor went back to the office to stitch together the footage, the 3D digital render painted a dire picture of a barren seabed with lifeless corals. Your local paper, whenever you want it. 'Basically, what we saw was a dramatic reduction in coral cover of the area that we scanned,' he said. The imagery showed severe coral bleaching and fragmentation, which Dr McGregor said laid bare a hidden yet escalating crisis at one of the world's southernmost reefs. Dr McGregor is the senior AI engineer at Advanced Navigation, the company behind the underwater robot launched in 2022. Hydrus — otherwise called an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) — is a small 7kg robot that captures geo-referenced high-resolution imagery and 4K video in parallel. An underwater drone has exposed a serious coral reef crisis right on North Fremantle's doorstep. Credit: Advanced Navigation The footage is then sewn together to create a 3D model of the coral reefs below, which can help provide real examples of current coral bleaching to marine scientists. 'Being able to scan coral reefs every six months, it allows us to get an actual idea of how fast these coral reefs are degrading, and gives those experts the data to make better decisions about how to combat bleaching,' Dr McGregor said. Last month's mission was in collaboration with marine consultancy O2 Marine, which Dr McGregor considered a typical example of the rising number of companies which hire Hydrus. 'There's been a huge uptake in the interest in the marine space,' he said. Dr McGregor is the senior AI engineer at Advanced Navigation, the company behind the underwater robot launched in 2022. Credit: Advanced Navigation 'We have many different customers all over the world and here in Australia that are using the robot for various different application. 'Some customers include the Australian Institute of Marine Science who have been looking at coral reefs up in Ningaloo and at the Great Barrier Reef. 'We also do work in the US for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association ... so people are definitely catching on.' Dr McGregor said findings of a coral-bleached reef at Halls Bank highlighted the growing climate crisis on WA's doorstep. 'It's important that our State Government knows that coral bleaching is actually taking place, that this is not just happening on the Great Barrier Reef but it's also happening in WA,' he said. 'I think that that's something that the government and people in charge should know, and they'll be able to make more informed decisions and data-driven decisions based on that.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
St. Michael Middle School Saints Robotics team heads to global competition
CROWLEY, La. (KLFY) — The St. Michael Middle School Saints Robotics team is headed to the Global FIRST LEGO League (FLL) robotics competition this summer. The team is known as Saints Robotics and is comprised of 5th through 8th grade students. Xander Richard, one of the 8th graders, said the team is looking forward to many things about this trip. 'We showcase our robot in different tasks they give us, and we showcase our innovation project. Which is a project that they create, and that solves a certain problem, that they give us.' Richard said. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now The Saints Robotics will put their skills to the test in the . 'We are preparing really hard, it's gonna be fun meeting new people, Mr. Tim (the Saints Robotics coach) says, for like 30 different countries. It's gonna be awesome' Richard said. The team looks forward to not only competing, but the opportunity to meet teams from across the world. 'Coach says, the two booths next to us, one is from Texas or Minnesota, and the other is from Japan. So, that is really cool.' Nick Himel, Saints Robotics team member said. 'I'm look forward to seeing what we can do compared to all the other teams across the world. And you know that being able to meet new people.' Logan Ousley added. John Keith Hensgens, an 8th grader, said he is proud of the team's journey in creating the robot and can't wait to see them compete. 'It's exciting for us to see how far we've come since the beginning of the year when we only had maybe like some idea of what the robot was going to end up looking like by the end of the year. But now we have all sorts of attachments in code for the robot.' Hensgens said. After placing first place for the Innovation Project on making AUV`s for marine exploration less invasive and 4th place overall at the Louisiana State Championship Robotics Tournament, STEM Teacher and Coach Tim Miguez said, these kids have earned their spot and are learning life skills in a big way. 'And those skills coding and the engineering skills that they're learning are important for us, for the adults and the teachers.' Miguez said. 'Usually it's the conflict resolution that they're learning, the public speaking, that they're learning the the need to work together, that that cooperation amongst the team is really important. I think that's probably our most valued part of our program.' There are 106 teams representing 44 states and 30 countries, and Saints Robotics is the only team representing Louisiana. Amtrak train hits vehicle in Lafayette Family of six-year-old Korbin awaits justice as bond hearing is moved Raskin launches probe of McIver charges in ICE facility scuffle Lil Wayne's 'Tha Carter VI' tour hits 30+ cities this summer Slightly Higher Rain Chances Over the Next Few Days & Near Normal Temperatures… Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
GMA Network
28-05-2025
- GMA Network
2 dead as truck plows into vehicles in Batasan-San Mateo Road
Two people died after a truck plowed into several vehicles along the Batasan-San Mateo Road in Quezon City (Photo from GMA News post) Two people died after a truck plowed into several vehicles along the Batasan-San Mateo Road in Quezon City, James Agustin of GMA Integrated News reported. The incident happened at around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday as the truck was traversing the road leading to Rizal province. Two motorcycles, a car and an AUV figured in the incident. According to the report, the 38-year-old truck driver said he felt the brake was loose, which made him lose control of the vehicle. The driver is now in the custody of the police. —LDF, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
23-05-2025
- GMA Network
Man handcuffs self to tow truck cable during MMDA's towing ops
A man who identified himself as a former cop handcuffed himself to the tow truck's cable in a bid to save his AUV from the towing operations of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) personnel on Friday morning. According to Oscar Oida's report on '24 Oras,' the man asserted that the MMDA has no right to conduct operations along Crispulo Street in North Caloocan as the said area is within a private subdivision. 'Pakita niyo muna yung basis ng jurisdiction niyo dito. Ito ba ay paga-ari na ng city hall 'to? Unang-una, wala ngang pasabi ang barangay,' he told the MMDA personnel. (Please show me proof of your jurisdiction in this place. Is this already owned by the city hall? First of all, we did not receive any notice from the barangay.) But other residents also voiced the same concern. 'Dito ako pinanganak. Alam ko na ito ay private. Sabi ko pakita sa amin kung ito ay na-turnover sa city government or local government,' another resident said. (I was born here so I'm aware that this is private. I've been telling you to show us proof that this was already turned over to the city government or to the local government.) For its part, the MMDA maintained that the stretch of Crispulo Street is a public road. 'Itong kahabaan ng kalsadang ito, hindi po ito private. If it's a private road, unang-una, dapat gated po ito. It is turned into an alternate route,' said MMDA Special Operations Group-Strike Force head Gabriel Go. (The whole stretch is not private. If it's a private road, then this should be gated. It was turned into an alternate route.) The MMDA added that it has received complaints via the Presidential Hotline of illegal parking in the said area. The man eventually removed the handcuffs after a discussion with the MMDA personnel. However, he was still issued a ticket. The MMDA also conducted towing operations in Camarin Road, which is also in North Caloocan. Further, the MMDA explained that it has to clear Crispulo Street and Camarin Road because they serve as alternate routes for those affected by the construction of MRT-7, particularly those coming from Quirino Highway. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/LDF, GMA Integrated News
Associated Press
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Associated Press
Vatn Systems Unveils New AUV-Torpedo Product Line and Opens State-of-the-Art Manufacturing Facility
The Skelmir S12 is a lightweight 12.75-inch diameter platform that enables AUV and torpedo missions representing a significant leap in underwater technology, offering unprecedented pricing, flexibility, and performance The company's new manufacturing facility leverages patent-pending modular design and vertical integration techniques, enabling rapid production at a scale previously unseen in the underwater vehicle market PORTSMOUTH, R.I., May 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Vatn Systems, a leading defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for the US military and allies, along with commercial customers, today announced the launch of its new innovative AUV-torpedo product line, the Skelmir S12, and the opening of a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, which is capable of producing up to 2,000 vehicles annually. New AUV-Torpedo Product Line Fills Gap in the Market The 12.75-inch diameter AUV represents a significant leap in underwater technology, offering unprecedented flexibility and performance with the ability to fulfill torpedo and AUV roles in various modular configurations. Uniquely designed to be agnostically deployed from submarines, surface vessels, and aircraft, the vehicle can serve multiple mission profiles including torpedo operations, sensor platforms, and electronic warfare capabilities. 'With the Skelmir S12, we set out to fill a critical market void—creating a vessel that merges the capabilities of a traditional AUV with the agility and performance of a lightweight torpedo for a fraction of the cost,' said Nelson Mills, co-founder and CEO of Vatn Systems. 'We've created a platform that delivers superior payload capacity, flexible deployment, and unmatched cost-effectiveness compared to existing solutions, and we're excited to be able to produce these at scale in our new manufacturing facility to fill that gap in the market and meet customer demand starting this summer.' The Skelmir S12, in its AUV configuration, has successfully completed its first exercise and the first production run has already been sold to government customers, with deliveries expected this year. The torpedo variant will be manufactured and delivered next year. See here for a product overview video: New Manufacturing Facility Scales Production to an Industry-Leading 2,000+ Vehicles Per Year The company's new manufacturing facility leverages patent-pending modular design and vertical integration techniques, enabling rapid production at a scale previously unseen in the underwater vehicle market. 'With current industry standards at about 200 vehicles per year, this facility will enable a strong competitive differentiation for us as we scale production capacity to 2,000+ vehicles annually to meet growing customer demand,' said Brendan Smith, Director of Manufacturing at Vatn Systems. Smith recently joined the team from Boston Dynamics, where he led the scaling of manufacturing operations for multiple robot hardware programs from early stage development to high rate production. 'By leveraging modular design and vertically integrated production, we're able to reduce lead times, minimize handoffs, and eliminate many of the inefficiencies common in traditional assembly processes,' Smith added. 'This approach gives us tighter control over quality, faster iteration cycles, and the ability to rapidly scale output as demand increases.' Vatn recently announced a partnership with Palantir that enables the company to digitize its manufacturing process and provide AI-driven insights to accelerate the production of AUVs built in the new facility, which is expected to reach full production capability in July 2025. About Vatn Systems Vatn Systems is a leading defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles that can be deployed at scale for the US military and allies. Founded in 2023 by a team of maritime experts and military leaders, Vatn Systems is on a mission to be the next underwater defense prime in a world where autonomous systems dominate naval battlefields. For more information, visit and follow the company on LinkedIn. Media Contacts McKenzie Hicks [email protected] View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Vatn Systems
