Singapore-based unmanned maritime systems developer Zycraft has developed an improved version of the Dolphin rescue unmanned surface vessel (USV). The marine life-saving robot is designed to deliver medicines, tools, and useful products to emergency vessels that are unable to maneuver alongside each other due to sea conditions or security concerns.
The Marine Rescue Robot received new communication systems with an increased range of up to a radius of 500 meters, and an additional BacPac compartment with which it can carry various cargoes weighing up to 10 kilograms. Besides, it acquired new GSM modules that allow the operator to control the device in the coverage area of cellular networks.
The Dolphin model was introduced back in January 2019 and tested during the year. It is 1.15 meters long, 0.8 meters wide, 0.25 meters high, and has a displacement of 13 kg. A fully electric robot is able to work for 30 minutes on a single battery charge. The maximum speed of the robot is 8 knots (about 14.8 km/h or 9 mph) thanks to two water-jet propulsion with electric motors.
The robot is controlled by one person who needs to have only minimal training. A rescue robot can be dropped into the water using a deck lifting mechanism, or even manually reset from a height of up to 20 meters. To date, the robot has been tested at sea level 3 points (wave height up to 1.25 meters).
“It can be radio-controlled to 500 m range and is usable under most sea conditions and has been proven in at least Sea State 3,” said James Soon, President of Zycraft.
