UAVOS recently developed an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) that is designed to deliver fuel and cargo to remote coastal areas.

The towing vehicle will serve as an alternative to manned boats that are unable to come near the coast because of strong waves or other factors, according to a news release.  The unmanned boat is based on a SeaDoo water scooter and features an UAVOS automatic control system that’s integrated into the water bike, as well as a hermetic upper casing and a pneumatic gun with an inertia-free coil for the cable.

For this application, an unmanned boat hoists out from the ship’s board to tow the cable to the shore, by which the fuel supply hose will be forwarded. Without reaching the shore, the cable is fired with a pneumatic gun and lands on a parachute at a specific location. An on-shore team, using winch, pulls the fuel hose by the cable and fills the tanks. The unmanned boat then returns to the ship, with the crane beam helping it aboard. Freight delivery can be completed with the same process.

Cable towing is typically performed by manned boats, but they often can’t come close to the coastline for safety reasons. Other factors, such as strong waves and surf, also can put these boats in waiting mode, making missions difficult to plan and increasing costs. This solution helps reduce costs as well as the risk to crew members.