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Adelaide-based Nova Systems has announced a collaborative partnership with the Australian Maritime College to deliver the world’s first Advanced Test & Evaluation (T&E) Practitioner course for autonomous underwater vehicles.
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The exciting collaboration is specifically focused on the next-generation T&E of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), a unit of the recently released course developed by Nova Systems, which will begin delivery in early 2024.
Nova Systems T&E capability lead Tim Grabert said the relationship between industry and academia enables collaboration on new-generation T&E capability and supports the acceleration of emerging technologies.
“We’ve spent 18 months developing the four-week Advanced T&E Practitioners course, after identifying a gap in the T&E training available to Australian professionals. We envisage this course, along with our T&E Centre of Excellence initiative, will help lead and shape new ways of delivering T&E in an increasingly complex and integrated environment,” Grabert explained.
A critical component of the course is the practical application of T&E with hands-on training in AUV test techniques to be delivered at the AMC’s underwater test facility near Launceston and will involve live test serials of military grade AUVs.
Grabert added, “Working with experts in their field at AMC Search on test techniques for AUVs, which are becoming increasingly relevant in a modern context, is a huge coup for us in equipping the future T&E workforce.”
AMC Search is the training and consultancy division of AMC specialising in naval architecture, offshore infrastructure, maritime simulations, Autonomous Maritime Systems and T&E support with a suite of specialist facilities across Tasmania.
Chris White, AMC Search manager Defence and Autonomous Systems, said the AMC had a wealth of experience in operations and technical aspects of AUVs.
“Our expertise in autonomous maritime systems makes us the ideal partner for Nova Systems to support training T&E practitioners in these emerging technologies,” White said.
White explained the growing importance of test and evaluation in the autonomous space, saying, “Autonomous systems are new and emerging technology, so T&E is really important to fully understand the capability and limitations, so the users can efficiently and effectively use the technology.
“We see real value in partnerships between academia and industry. We have the ability to look forward at lower technical readiness levels, while industry has that more commercial acumen and high technical readiness levels to support defence or industry more directly,” White added.
The course exercise will involve an assessment of the suitability and effectiveness of AUVs for employment in mine counter measure operations in support of amphibious task groups. Under the guidance of AMC and Nova Systems experts, participants will deploy AUVs on the underwater testing area in the Tamar River, collect and then analyse sensor and vehicle performance data.
