Fremantle-based EGS Survey has commissioned a new uncrewed hydrographic and geophysical survey vessel that is equipped to conduct 90% of its missions autonomously.
Designed to operate in coastal waters, the 12-metre-long USV Fremantle 01 is fitted with Greenroom Robotics’ GAMA Remote and Autonomous Control Software.
Greenroom Robotics is another Fremantle-based business, whose autonomy software has been successfully tested aboard a decommissioned Royal Australian Navy patrol boat.
In May this year, USV Fremantle 01 was put through its paces on a 42-day mission, 100 kilometres east of Esperance off Western Australia’s southern coastline.
The vessel was tasked with conducting extended hydrographic survey operations in remote offshore waters. It successfully endured rough conditions, including swells of up to 5 metres and winds exceeding 30 knots.
It is intended that integrating GAMA into USV Fremantle 01 will improve precision, reliability and operational flexibility for EGS Survey, enabling longer-duration, highly automated survey missions.
“The USV Fremantle 01 has been developed by EGS Survey as part of our ongoing drive to improve the quality of our survey products whilst reducing risk to personnel, costs to our clients and lowering our environmental footprint,” said Charles Collins, Chief Surveyor, EGS Survey.
“By integrating Greenroom Robotics’ GAMA system, we have equipped the vessel with advanced autonomous capabilities that meet the demands of even the most complex survey projects”.
GAMA integrates with survey tools and provides precise steering and positioning, outperforming manual vessel control in survey line tracking.
It features customisable widgets and a modern UI that displays critical survey and navigation data in real-time. The interface enables survey teams to monitor, adapt, and optimise operations dynamically based on mission requirements.
It also means USV Fremantle 01 can operate 24/7, resulting in continuous data collection with minimal downtime.
The system is equipped with a hierarchical fail-safe system that ensures secure operations and collision avoidance.
“We’re excited to be part of an Australian-designed and built project like the USV Fremantle 01,” said Peter Baker, Greenroom Robotics’ Director of Growth.
“GAMA’s flexibility and reliability align well with the vessel’s design, and we look forward to seeing it in operation, supporting EGS Survey’s hydrographic and geophysical work.”
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