NjordWorks Releases Pioneer Unmanned Maritime Vehicle

Photo courtesy NjordWorks.

By Danielle Lucey



Niceville, Fla., company NjordWorks Inc. announced today that it has released its Pioneer unmanned boat, which resembles an autonomous underwater vehicle on skis that keep it afloat above the water. 



The company says the system, which is designed for shallow water and difficult-to-access areas, was created for civil and commercial use for missions either alongside or in place of manned boats and swimmers. Possible uses include water quality testing, oil and fuel cleanup, hydrographic surveys, search and rescue, and infrastructure inspection. 



The system has airboat-style propulsion and a high-bandwidth communications system that includes off-the-shelf Wi-Fi and both analog and high-definition video systems.



“With 70 percent of the Earth’s surface covered in water and our dependence on water for trade, recreation and life itself, it only makes sense that the next big domain for unmanned systems will be the water,” says Larry Friese, cofounder and president of NjordWorks, who previously worked in the unmanned aircraft industry. “I believe watercraft will trend very much like aircraft, where smaller vehicles will find the most applications and ultimately dominate market share.”