The UK Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) has partnered with Marine AI on a project that would enable uncrewed vessels to communicate with other ships using natural language.
The programme builds on Marine AI’s earlier work with large language models to create an autonomy system capable of understanding and generating dialogue. The aim is to allow uncrewed surface vessels to interact with crewed ships in the same way a human operator would.
Trials will take place in the Plymouth and Portsmouth areas in the UK. Testing will use Marine AI’s Oceanus12 vessel alongside other platforms including the Royal Navy’s Patrick Blackett and XLUUV Excalibur.
Responses generated by the system will be evaluated by master mariners, with findings to be captured in a formal report.
“Uncrewed platforms can only operate safely alongside conventional vessels if they can be understood,” said Oliver Thompson, Technical Director at Marine AI.
“This project is about proving that an autonomous system can use natural language in a way that makes sense to mariners in real-world conditions.”
