ecoSUB Robotics Ltd - ecoSUB News

Primary Literature Alert: ecoSUB featured in Remote Sensing article by Hamilton et al

23/10/2020

Click here to read a recent paper published in Remote Sensing, Adaptable Underwater Networks: The Relation between Autonomy and Communications. ecoSUB's work with Network Localisation is used as a case study from Page 14. Our own Jeremy Sitbon, and our colleague from NOC, Davide Fenucci, are co-authors.

October 09th, 2020

9/10/2020

Visit the ecoSUB YouTube Channel

We have added a YouTube channel to help share some of the videos we have pulled together featuring ecoSUB - please visit to take a look and subscribe for updates

Visit the ecoSUB YouTube Channel

ecoSUBm5 Scout+ gets wet for the first time

6/10/2020

ecoSUBm5 Scout+ with Side Scan Sonar, CTD, Fluorometer, Altimeter, 300m rated GoPro and nano-modem

Our ecoSUBm5 Scout+, also nick-named the 'Tardis', has finally entered the water, albeit a swimming pool for ballasting ahead of lake trials later this week. COVID-19 has challenged all of us over the last six months+ and the need to rely on pools in back gardens instead of our usual test tanks is the perfect example of this.

The ecoSUBm5 Scout+ features a Marine Sonic Technology ARC Scout Mk II 1800KHz side scan sonar system with ECHO Altimeter for altitude control, we have also integrated the Valeport CT-F sensor (conductivity, temperature and fluorometer for Chlorophyll-a), a GoPro H7 with 300m rated housing and nano-modem for network localisation and advanced navigation.

Thanks to the recent advances in DVL technology, we can also integrate a WaterLinked A-50 DVL to improve navigation further.

This platform is a serious tool for science and survey work, it's small and easy to operate without extensive infrastructure, AND it carries an ecoSUB price tag... not that we pay it much attention, but it's probably around 10% of the cost of other equivalent AUVs.

We could not be prouder of our engineers that have worked so hard on the development during a really testing period.

For further information please email us via sales@ecosub.uk.

ecoSUB network localisation project featured in Innovate UK's Robotics for a Safer World report

6/10/2020

To view the full report please follow this link

New ecoSUB Robotics Advisory Board

5/10/2020

As the ecoSUB range of small, affordable autonomous underwater vehicles enter full production, Planet Ocean is pleased to announce the formation of an advisory board to help guide the project into the next phase and beyond. The board comprises acknowledged leaders in their fields to counsel the company on the opportunities for maximising the impact of its technologies globally.

“We recognise that although we have a deep understanding of the technology and the three main target user groups for ecoSUB, we are by no means expert in them all and the formation of this board of specialists will ensure that we remain focused and on the right track as well as providing industry insights into what the users groups around the World need in the future.” says Terry Sloane, founder and MD of Planet Ocean and ecoSUB Robotics.

The advisory team have long been advocates of the use of small, agile autonomous systems in their respective fields and ecoSUB in particular. Their decades of real world experience and vision is a significant asset available to the ecoSUB team. Of particular importance is an understanding of how micro AUV technology fits into the wider use of undersea autonomy in general.

Professor Russell Wynn
Science

Russell was the first Chief Scientist for Marine Autonomous and Robotic Systems (MARS) at the UK’s National Oceanography Centre, where he also served as Associate Director for Government, International and Public Engagement. He led external engagement for £30M of UK Government investment in the MARS fleet and ensured the adventures of the Autosub vehicles (aka Boaty McBoatface!) reached the wider public via TV and other media. Russell also initiated and co-ordinated the annual ‘MASSMO’ series of demonstrator missions for UK marine autonomous systems, which were sponsored by Dstl and included Royal Navy, UKHO, Met Office, CMRE and several industry and research organisations as partners; these missions involved the largest mixed fleets of marine robots (including ecoSUB) to be deployed in UK waters.

Russell was previously Head of Marine Geoscience at the NOC and published over 100 peer-reviewed science papers on topical marine matters, including novel use of marine robotics. He is currently focused on wildlife conservation and education as a Director of Wild New Forest CIC, but retains Senior Visiting Fellow status at the NOC and is an Honorary Professor at University of Southampton

Dr Peter Collinson
Offshore Energy

Peter is focused on delivering ‘net zero robotics solutions’ for energy and maritime industry applications. Peter has worked extensively on the strategic development and rollout of Marine Autonomous Systems for bp over the past 7 years. In that role he lead many developments of marine robotic technology, including ecoSUB and several USV and AUV solutions for subsea inspection, survey and environmental/crisis applications. He is a member of robotics committees for UKRI (Innovate UK Government) and an Industry advisor to the National Oceanography Centre, UK. Prior to his role in technology he was a Risk and Crisis Manager with extensive experience in enterprise risk management and crisis response, leading humanitarian and environmental teams during 9-11, the Asian Tsunami and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill incidents.

Peter holds a PhD in Marine Ecology from The University of Hong Kong and is a Fellow of the Institute Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST).

Cdre David Burton RN (rtd)
Defence

Mr David Burton is the Director of ASW Barrier Smart Defence Initiative, a multinational initiative comprising: Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, UK, and the US. The SDI is sponsored by the NATO Maritime Unmanned Systems (MUS) initiative.

Prior to this David was Strategic Advisor to the UK’s NavyX programme and before this Director Strategy for NATO’s Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), an executive body of NATO’s Science and Technology where he was instrumental in the formation of the Maritime Unmanned Systems Initiative.

Before joining CMRE, Mr David Burton was the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the NATO Communications and Information (NCI) Agency.

Previously, Mr Burton served as a Commodore in the Royal UK Navy in the post of Director Change within the Information Systems & Service Directorate of the Defence Equipment and Support Organisation of the UK Ministry of Defence.

At the UK Ministry of Defence, Commodore Burton worked for the Chief Information Officer with responsibility for the UK Defence Information Exploitation and Enterprise Architecture Programmes. Prior to this he held the position as NATO’s Network Enabled Capability Integrated Project Team Leader based at ACT, Norfolk Virginia.

A Physics graduate of Bristol University, Mr Burton joined the Royal Navy in 1980. After a variety of operational appointments at sea and with the Royal Marines, he attended the Royal Military College of Science, where he was awarded a Masters Degree in Design of Information Systems. Project Management experience followed in a variety of strategic Information Systems and organisational change programmes, including Programme Management of major Public Private Partnerships within UK defence. In the late 1990s, he filled a key role within NATO’s Maritime Command and Control Information System (MCCIS) Programme.

Mr Burton is a Chartered Engineer, Chartered IT Practitioner, and Fellow of the British Computer Society

ecoSUB AUC Production Version Trials & Testing

3/7/2020

With COVID-19 restriction easing, we have been out with our new production ready ecoSUB AUVS for trials and testing - see what we have been up to in this short video

ecoSUB featured in the TOP 10 OCEAN INFLUENCERS list published by ECO magazine

18/12/2019

We are very proud to see ecoSUB AUVs announced in this list and to receive recognition for the exciting and disruptive technology that we have been developing, which we are confident will have a meaningful impact on various marine science communities operating in a wide range of sectors.

We are very much looking forward to an exciting 2020 where we should start to see a lot more ecoSUBs out with customers completing many interesting missions.

Link to mobile/tablet friendly article

EMS Systems joins our International Distributor team

17/12/2019

Miguel Moll and his team at EMS Systems have been appointed as exclusive distributors for ecoSUB AUVs. EMS has offices in France and Spain and are appointed as the exclusive distributor for France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. EMS have an excellent reputation working within the marine science communities in these countries and we are very proud to have them working with us to provide local sales and support in these European countries.

EMS are joining our distributors, Nippon-Kaiyo Co Ltd in Japan, Metocean Services International Pty Ltd in Australia, and Lwandle Marine Environmental Services based in South Africa and are appointed to cover South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia and Angola.

Please visit our International Sales page for more information and contact details.

ecoSUB at MATS, Southampton

15/11/2019

The ecoSUB team all enjoyed three days at the Marine Autonomous Technology Showcase (MATS), hosted by NOC in Southampton during November. ecoSUB gave two presentations, Iain presented the work done on Network Localisation and Jeremy gave a presentation about his trip to Zanzibar where an ecoSUBm5 was used to complete video surveys of coral reefs.

The conference and exhibition was a great success, we lost count of the number of times an ecoSUB appeared in a presentation or display, demonstrating the enthusiastic appetite that exists for working with our low cost AUVs. ecoSUB has benefitted enormously from it's membership in the NOC's Marine Robotics Innovation Centre and the many partnerships and collaborative activity that it has been able to participate in.

ecoSUB in Croatia - Breaking the Surface & Successful Missions

14/10/2019

Iain and Jeremy from ecoSUB were joined in Biograd na Moru, Croatia by Alex Phillips and Davide Fenucci from NOC, as well as Jeff Neasham and his team from Newcastle University, all partners in our recent Innovate UK project to develop network localisation for advanced positioning and navigation of ecoSUB AUVs.

The group were all attending Breaking the Surface, an interdisciplinary marine robotics workshop held between 29 Sep - 5 Oct. The event supports the opportunity to run trials throughout the week with colleagues from Zagreb University providing first class support and access to the resort facilities.

ecoSUB hosted three demo sessions to delegates, and provided a talk on network localisation, which included some outstanding data collected from the local waters.

Seven ecoSUB AUVs travelled with the team and six operated together within the network, producing some excellent track lines following complicated lawnmower patterns and demonstrating multi-vehicles operations. At the end of the week the team extended the network into the waters between Biograd na Moru and the nearest large island, Pašman, successfully completing a three hour mission.

Our many thanks are extended to the Breaking the Surface team for hosting such a great event.