Nick Swift

Nick Swift started his career in marine technology straight from leaving school, working on submarine sonars with the MoD. He then studied Physics at University before continuing his career in the maritime industry working on seismic vessels. Nick is now consulting in the marine autonomy market – working with companies to exploit their companies into the marine autonomy market. He has worked with SEA-KIT involved in demonstrations of their uncrewed surface vessel and with Navtech radars providing a navigation and situational awareness sensor for marine autonomous applications. He is also chair of the Society of Underwater Technology’s Defence Special Interest

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Presentation

Positioning, situation awareness and automatic berthing sensor for autonomous vessels

This presentation will review the results of trials showing how the Navtech radar system can be used for positioning marine vessels and as an input for autonomous vessels for navigation and situational awareness systems. Data will be presented that demonstrates how the high precision positioning and resolution of the sensors can be used for autonomous berthing. The sensor is particularly relevant to autonomous ships due to its precision and robustness and can also provide situational awareness. Data will be presented showing how the sensors can detect small objects, including swimmers and kayakers at significant ranges.