A Vermont firm is handing underwater inspection and maintenance tasks to robots instead of human divers.
Greensea IQ’s “Bayonet Sweep” is a new autonomous underwater robot designed to crawl along ship hulls, searching for anomalies and potential threats while giving naval crews a way to monitor vessels without putting personnel in the water.
It can also be used to search and inspect other critical underwater infrastructure, expanding its role across ports, harbors, and other maritime environments.
The robot runs on the company’s Core software, which helps process its findings, alert operators, and pinpoint the location of anything requiring closer attention.
After each mission, Bayonet Sweep can generate a detailed inspection report for commanders and operators to review.
“We rely on ports and harbors worldwide, for our infrastructure. With all of those vessels coming in and out, we have no way of knowing what is on the underside of those ships,” said Greensea IQ CEO Ben Kinnaman.
“We’ve taken … the technology that allows an autonomous vehicle to crawl along the hull, and we’ve developed a security robot that can be deployed to sweep from stem to stern reliably and with high confidence to provide an operator 100% intelligence on the hull of that ship.”
A Robotic Team Underwater
Bayonet Sweep’s integration with Core also enables swarm operations, allowing one robot to assess findings while multiple units cover a larger area for more comprehensive inspections.
The software runs across Greensea IQ’s broader robotics portfolio, potentially simplifying operator training for customers already using the company’s systems.
Bayonet Sweep is currently available to customers, with Greensea IQ offering additional training and over-the-horizon support.
“Through the use of this autonomy and navigation, we can plug a vital hole in our port and harbor security infrastructure,” Kinnaman stressed.
