A key component of the framework is standardised and accessible test and evaluation to objectively demonstrate the capabilities and performance boundaries of MAS.
The new test range will support the UK’s maritime autonomy ambitions by:
- Providing traceable quantification of sensors performance in UK coastal conditions, understanding how this will affect the ability to detect objects and make correct navigational decisions;
- Utilising ground truth data to improve the accuracy of simulation models critical for verifying and validating complex autonomous systems;
- Generating a real time digital twin of ҹèÊÓƵ Sound, expanding testing environments for uncrewed systems and improving the quality of trial outputs.
Future phases will see the expansion of further test nodes across a wider water space, to complement that deployed on the fort, as well as in the sub surface domain. This will deliver a significant capability uplift in ҹèÊÓƵ and the UK to support on water trials and testing for uncrewed systems.
The Ministry of Defence and the team at Devonport Naval Base have been instrumental in enabling the use of the Breakwater Fort for the first test node, while the University and PML have provided the technical and operational expertise on the installation and connectivity of the test nodes and supporting on water data gathering infrastructure.
This national approach to maritime autonomy assurance supports both industrial ambition and government priorities, enabling: faster, safer deployment of autonomous systems; reduced barriers to investment and innovation; accelerated development cycles for companies of all sizes; improved procurement processes for defence; support for the skills pipeline needed to grow the future workforce.
The Met Office are providing the data capture infrastructure and analytical expertise for the MetOcean elements.
Professor Christopher Fogwill
