NjordWorks
Inc., a manufacturer of small unmanned vehicles, today announced the
debut of the Pioneer small unmanned boat for civil and commercial use.
The Pioneer unmanned boat, or unmanned surface vehicle (USV), lives
up to its name as being the first in a class of small unmanned vehicles
designed for very shallow and difficult to access bodies of water.
Like other unmanned vehicles, the Pioneer’s mission is to perform
dull, dirty and dangerous jobs either as a replacement for or complement
to manned boats, swimmers and shore-side personnel. Areas that will
benefit the most from the introduction of small unmanned vehicles, like
Pioneer, include water quality testing, oil and fuel spill cleanup,
hydrographic survey, lake and pond maintenance, conservation, search
and rescue and infrastructure inspection. These vehicles will also be
a welcomed addition to the commercial photography and TV and film markets
because of their capability to capture unique perspectives from above
and below the waterline. |
Key
features of the Pioneer which enable users to get access to the water
without getting in the water include:
Ultimate portability: lightweight and small, it can be carried to operating
sites and transported with ease in trucks, vans and SUVs;
One person operation: reduces labor costs in many
cases in addition to being the ideal centerpiece of a one-person business;
Semi-autonomous control option: further reduces
workload on the operator while increasing trajectory accuracy and precision;
Airboat-style propulsion: offers excellent maneuverability
and performance in waters with surface films and debris as well as not
disturbing the water;
All electric: low and no noise operation using
lightweight batteries;
Flexible design: provides a multitude of external
and internal payload mounting options, easy shore side payload reconfiguration
and customization for specific applications;
High bandwidth communications: off the shelf Wi-Fi,
analog and high definition video systems.
“With 70 percent of the Earth’s surface
covered in water and our dependence on water for trade, recreation and
life itself, it only makes sense that the next big domain for unmanned
systems will be the water,” explained Larry Friese, cofounder
and President of NjordWorks, and a 15-year veteran of the unmanned aircraft
industry. “I believe watercraft will trend very much like aircraft,
where smaller vehicles will find the most applications and ultimately
dominate market share. It is an emerging market and we see nothing but
blue ocean ahead.” |
