European defence firm Helsing has launched SG-1 Fathom, a new autonomous underwater glide drone for swarming underwater surveillance, and its new associated software platform and AI suite, Lura.
As per a press statement, the firm envisions hundreds of its SG-1 underwater gliders being deployed in tandem to form large-scale surveillance constellations of sensors beneath the waves.
It noted: Lura is a software platform and advanced AI system developed from first principles to rethink maritime surveillance. The system uses autonomous mass that is sovereign, scalable and affordable to detect threats in the subsurface domain.
The firm likened Lura’s large acoustic model design to large-language-model AI, meaning Lura is able to classify and localise acoustic signatures (the sounds made by ships and submarines) with unprecedented sensitivity and accuracy.
It claims Lura can detect acoustic signatures ten times quieter than other AI models, including differentiating between specific vessels in the same class, and at speeds up to 40 times faster than human operators.
The sensor platform for Lura is the SG-1, an autonomous underwater glider with a claimed patrol endurance of up to three months. Each glider is just under two metres long, with a 28cm diameter, and weighs 60kgs. It glides underwater at between one and two knots.
The system’s capabilities were recently demonstrated at HM Naval Base Portsmouth to a select audience of users and industry partners.
The firm stated: A single operator can task and monitor hundreds of gliders from a Maritime Headquarters, receiving accurate intelligence at 10% of the cost of crewed Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) patrols.
Dr Gundbert Scherf, co-founder and co-CEO of Helsing, commented: Lura detects so our navies can deter. We must harness new technologies to keep pace with the threats against our critical infrastructure, national waters, and way of life.
Deploying AI to the edge of underwater constellations will illuminate the oceans and deter our adversaries, for a strong Europe.
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You can read more details on the Helsing website