Partnership delivers foundational technologies

In an Australian first, the ‘Mine Counter Measures in a Day’ project explored autonomous vehicle navigation in the shallow water zone; an operationally complex area due to turbulent water conditions, changing turbidity and depth of water.

Deployable from sea or land, and operational in the most challenging coastal conditions, the autonomous system of systems maps the minefield and identifies Mine Like Objects (MLO) before deploying a neutralisation (simulated) package to counter the identified targets.

“The Mine Countermeasures (MCM) in a day Project was a unique, multi-partner activity with the objective of developing a solution which puts the safety of Defence personnel at its core. Thales Australia’s 40+ year pedigree in sonar technologies, coupled with the innovative thinking of Academia, SMEs and DSTG, has delivered the building blocks of an Australian first Robotic and Autonomous System littoral mine clearance solution to the Royal Australian Navy.

The MCM in a day project has been an exciting project for our engineers and has enabled us to establish a pipeline for autonomous systems talent; building the workforce of the future.” Troy Stephen, Vice President Underwater Systems, Thales Australia.

“At Trusted Autonomous Systems, we are incredibly proud of the hard work, dedication, and collaboration between our partners that has resulted in the successful delivery of the Thales-led MCM in a Day project. It has been our privilege to oversee this journey, which was made possible by the close collaboration between partners across Defence, Industry and Academia. The potential improvements to our war fighters’ safety, as well as the significant technical advances created by this project, will continue to see benefits for Australia well into the future”. Glen Schafer, CEO, Trusted Autonomous Systems.

“The project was an excellent capability demonstrator of the team partners successfully collaborating to develop MCM solutions for very real and very harsh operating environments.” Professor Karl Sammut, Flinders University.

"At the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), our Robotics Institute excels in developing advanced solutions that address critical challenges in the Defence industry. We specialise in robotics for complex environments, leveraging cutting-edge technologies in sensing, perception, planning, and control. This project, in collaboration with Thales Australia and other partners, exemplifies our commitment to advancing autonomous systems technology and showcases our capability to contribute to groundbreaking Defence initiatives.” Professor Robert Fitch, Director Tech Lab, University of Technology Sydney.

“The partnership with Thales and other key collaborators has been instrumental in advancing our HMI technology for AUV operations. Our innovative interface addresses key challenges in the Very Shallow Water (VSW) zone by delivering predictive visualisations and live updates presented in a continuously updating visual digital twin. This project exemplifies the strength of collaboration between industry and academia, and we are proud to contribute to the advancement of Australian sovereign capabilities in autonomous underwater systems.” Stafford van Putten, Director, ineni Realtime.