Greensea Systems, Inc. and SeeByte are working together under a US Department of Defense (DoD) Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) led by the Defense Innovation Unit to advance maritime expeditionary standoff response vehicles.
Valued at $1.2 million with a potential value of $4.2 million, the OTA was signed in response to the growing demand for true Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) autonomy within the field of maritime Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) robotics.
The two companies have previously operated as competitors, both fielding software for ROVs, but have now recognized that to satisfy the emerging needs of key maritime robotics consumers such as the US Navy, pooling intellect and experience through collaboration is the way forward.
“Autonomy is the right solution for the warfighter trying to use robots. True ROV autonomy for EOD robotics requiring advanced technology (over-the-horizon control, intervention autonomy, and automatic target recognition) will only happen at the pace customers demand through collaboration,” said Ben Kinnaman, Greensea CEO. “Knowing SeeByte has a great Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) product, which would complement our EOD product and integrate with OPENSEA, our robotics platform, I picked up the phone and asked SeeByte if they’d be interested in working with us on a Defense Innovation Unit solicitation. It has been fun and we are fielding an awesome solution.”
“It is rare that two small companies start out as competitors in one area and progress to being partners for the benefit of the end user,” said Leverett Bezanson, SeeByte Engineering Manager. “This collaboration has been beneficial for both companies, as well as the customer. It speaks volumes that the management and engineering teams at both Greensea and SeeByte were collectively able to carve out the best-of-breed technologies from both companies, providing the best possible solutions for our customer.”
“Smart companies realize that the future of ocean business is about collaboration, building networked systems, and technology integration. Both Greensea and SeeByte recognize this, and we are looking forward to working together on several future projects,” Kinnaman concluded.
