Aquatic Drones is a young company, founded in 2016 by Maarten Ruyssenaers, with the aim of developing autonomous measurement vessels that are safe, clean and more cost-efficient.
He identified the need for this in the port of Rotterdam during his work in technical innovation. In the following years, the company developed and tested several prototypes in the Dutch maritime market. In fact, these prototypes have already generated revenue for Aquatic Drones, as they could be deployed in the port of Rotterdam, on rivers and in the coast. In this case, it is an autonomous work boat, focused on monitoring and inspection, developed for coastal, port and river surveys.
Ten people now work at the company in Heusden. These are mainly developers and a few people mainly involved in sales. Assembly also takes place here and most systems come from the Netherlands.
These Autonomous Surface Vessels (ASVs) are maritime robots that collect data with a wide range of sensors for efficient research activities. The versatile vessels have an autonomous control system. They can collect, analyse and interpret data.
The ASVs can be used for various applications, such as:
- Monitoring maintenance status of water management in waterways, ports and sea
- Predicting water depth (bathymetry)
- Monitoring and predicting maintenance of quay walls, dams, locks and other water-related assets
- Monitoring and predicting water quality and ecology
The latest model is the Phoenix 5, of which there are 3 different types. They are powered by lithium-ion batteries. The propulsion system has two ducted propellers driven by electric motors with a combined output of 8 or 20 kW, depending on the model. The range varies from 80 to 450 kilometres with an operational time of up to 48 hours. They can be deployed in large inland waterways, ports, coastal areas and offshore and can basically be launched by one person with the help of a trailer or crane.
The Phoenix 5 can sail autonomously. It uses its built-in sensors and a camera. Moreover, the drone can use its built-in software to assess weather conditions and determine the right time to set sail. When the drone sets sail, someone is always watching, but that person can simultaneously analyse all the data being sent. However, this person can 'take the wheel' at any time.
A policy was recently issued for an order from Aquatic Drones to Agence Nationale Des Ports (ANP) the drone's end customer. This is a state-owned company that manages all ports in Morocco, similar to the Rotterdam Port Authority. This involves hydrographic measurements, inspection of maritime structures (civil works such as quays and sheet piling) and monitoring port and safety for other vessels. On this last point, it has been confirmed that these are civilian situations where the port authority maintains safety and supervision of waterways and its users.
By using a drone, it can take measurements much more efficiently than if a manned vessel had to sail around. The drone is not only cheaper to buy but also a lot more economical to operate. The ship is hybrid and runs mostly on electricity. The diesel generator is only switched on to charge the battery in time. Because there is also a solar panel on the vessel, it is continuously charged, Morocco has an average of 8.5 hours of sunshine per day. The total range of this drone is 450km and the ANP has ambitions to purchase more drones.
Working capital cover
The ANP only pays on delivery, therefore it was inevitable to pre-finance the construction of the drone through the bank. The latter in turn wanted security and applied for working capital cover from Atradius DSB. This ensures that Aquatic Drones' regular lines at the bank are not encumbered.
Future
The company is in talks with several parties about supplying Aquatic Drones. There is now also a lot of demand from companies that want to lease a drone first, before buying. This concept is currently being developed further.