Greenroom Robotics, a 35-person firm in Western Australia, is partnering with Austal, the country’s biggest shipbuilder, to enable easy installation of autonomous navigation systems on all Austal Australian military ships.
Goal: Turn Ships Autonomous in Days, Not Weeks
Executives from both companies say the goal is to give Austal the ability to transform existing ships into fully autonomous vessels „in as little as five days,” according to a company announcement, claiming competing technologies could take „weeks or months.”
Confidence in a Startup
The fact that Austal, one of Australia’s industrial champions, trusts such a small startup with its fleet’s reputation is notable. Executives attribute this confidence to shared standards and extensive testing under the Royal Australian Navy’s supervision.
Focus on Data, Not Just Code
Greenroom co-founder Harry Hubbert said their employees’ diverse backgrounds—marine architects, designers, former RAN officers, and not many coders—give them an advantage. Their approach focuses on gathering and fusing data, moving to the ship without focusing solely on writing good code.
Reduced Crewing, Increased Safety
Hubbert stated that any Austal vessel can have Greenroom software to provide reduced crewing, autonomous operations, or increased safety, after necessary tests and trials.
Greenroom’s Technology: GAMA and Lookout+
Greenroom’s GAMA and Lookout+ technologies use vision-based AI, gathering data from electro-optical sensors and cameras, supported by GPS. These systems interface with Austal’s Marinelink Prime, which controls the ship’s mechanical systems.
Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial
Increased cooperation stemmed from the Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial, where Greenroom technology was fitted to an old Armidale patrol vessel. Austal conducted endurance and reliability tests in April of last year.
Growing Market for Autonomy
The market for Greenroom’s technology is growing in Australia, which plans to buy six Large Optionally Crewed Surface Vessels and six Offshore Patrol Vessels. These vessels would be good candidates for the Greenroom/Austal technologies, according to Sam Abbott, head of R&D for Austal.
Redundancy to Enable Extended Operations
Every sophisticated military focuses on reducing crew size. Austal focuses on building highly reliable systems with redundancy.
“So a big effort that Austal is undertaking is to ensure that vessel systems, especially the critical systems, like the engines you pointed out, remain available and operational for the duration commission. So that means either improving the reliability of those systems or adding redundancy where the reliability is not up to standard,” Abbott said.
AUKUS ITAR Exemption
Greenroom has been granted an ITAR exemption under the AUKUS legislation, facilitating technology transfers.
Hubbert: “The ITAR exemption has enabled conversations and contracts to progress a lot faster than traditionally we’ve seen,” especially when it comes to data sharing and information sharing.
Global Ambitions
Greenroom recently opened a US office and plans to double its workforce by mid-next year, aiming for 175 employees in two to five years.
Hubbert: “So, our plan, our mission, is to make safe, clean, protected oceans, and to do that, we want to be the global industrial leader for maritime autonomy and robotics, essentially like the Microsoft of the ocean.”
