Cellula successfully completes sea trials of Imotus-S off the coast of British Columbia

Cellula Robotics Ltd. is pleased to announce the successful completion of Imotus-S AUV sea trials. Imotus-S enables deployed vessels to easily monitor their magnetic and acoustic signature in a timely manner without having to leave station.

November 2022 - Cellula’s Imotus-S drone being deployed off an RCN Orca class vessel in Saanich Inlet

The sea trials, executed in the Saanich Inlet over the course of two weeks starting November 14th, served to meet various project milestones including acoustic ranging, magnetic ranging, and understanding safe distance to the vessel while maintaining control authority.

The demonstration provided training of test department staff with handling and operating the Imotus-S drone and was run with the support of a Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) Orca class vessel, PCT Cougar, as part of Cellula’s ongoing work with the Department of National Defence (DND) through the Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) Test Stream program.

“Seeing Imotus-S being deployed from and working in tandem with the Orca vessel has been a fantastic step in Cellula’s signature measurement program” said Jacqueline Nichols, Business Development. “In conjunction with the invaluable feedback received to date, the opportunity of working closely with DND throughout the program enabled us to understand the challenges for signature measurement and management.”

“Since the Imotus-S project announcement, we’ve been looking forward to open water testing and deploying Imotus-S off an Orca class vessel” said Warren Priyadamkol, Project Engineer at DND. “With the successful completion of the sea trials, we will now focus on analysing the data sets obtained from the AUV.” 

In-depth analysis of the recorded data, including comparison to known acoustic and magnetic signatures of the Orca vessel is ongoing from the test department. Discussions and feedback from the Saanich Inlet trials will move the Imotus-S program one step closer to the establishment of an autonomous underwater ranging capability.

Cellula Receives Contract for Design and Build of an Imotus-S AUV for Signature Measurements of Marine Vessels

Cellula Robotics Ltd. is pleased to announce a contract through Innovative Solutions Canada's Testing Stream for the build and test of a hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) for use in underwater measurements of a ship's acoustic and magnetic signature.

Rendering showing Cellula’s Imotus-S system.

The innovation, known as Imotus-S, builds on Cellula's existing commercial Imotus AUV and is configured with an Ocean Sonics hydrophone and an Ocean Floor Geophysics self-compensating magnetometer.

Imotus-S will test the ability to be deployed from a marine vessel to provide magnetic and acoustic signature measurements in open water. This potential capability would enable deployed vessels to easily monitor their signature in a timely manner without having to leave station.

"We are thrilled to be working with the Department of National Defence on testing our solution that will complement and extend current vessel signature management capabilities" comments Jacqueline Nichols, Business Development. "With only two fixed ranges in Canada, Cellula hopes to reduce operational constraints where ships must travel to a range for measurement."

The test program for the Imotus-S system will allow for data obtained to be compared to traditional range measurements and pave the path to a shipborne, containerized solution in the form of a fleet currently under development at Cellula. The innovation is currently scheduled to be tested in Q4 2022 near Saanich, BC.

Successful Completion of IDEaS Project: Collaboration of Multi-domain Marine Robots

Cellula Robotics Ltd. (Cellula) has successfully completed a Collaboration of Robotic Systems challenge under the IDEaS program with the Integrated Systems Laboratory at the University of Dalhousie.

The multi-domain marine robots were mobilized in March 2019 to test and tune the collaborative mission in the Aquatron pool facility in Halifax. This included Cellula’s Imotus hovering UUV and a surface and aerial drone from Dalhousie University. Successful imagery of different test targets from above and below the water surface were obtained and merged through post-processing. These tests were a progression from the completion of the first milestone in December, where simulations of the mission were run for a team of robots.

This multi-domain marine robot collaboration is an important enabling technology for improving safety in maritime interdiction operation capabilities within Canada. With the collaborative approach, above and below water imagery for items of interest can be autonomously gathered and relayed to a control station over the horizon.

Cellula Awarded Two Contracts for DND IDEaS Program

Cellula Robotics Ltd. has been awarded two contracts under the Canada’s Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program.

For the Persistent Maritime Surveillance challenge, Cellula is funded to test a candidate battery technology for a Deployable Battery Station (DBS) to support Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) mission extensions. The DBS will ultimately provide megawatt-hour subsea storage capacity for long term deployments enabling UUVs to recharge without being recovered.

Under the Collaboration of Robotics Systems challenge, Cellula has teamed with Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Engineering to demonstrate a team of marine robots imaging a target from below and above to create a complete 3D model.  The project includes Cellula’s Imotus hovering UUV below the water with surface and aerial drones from Dalhousie University.  Ultimately, this technology can be used to assess over the horizon targets before manned interdiction operations.

Announced in Canada’s defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged (June, 2017), DND introduced the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program to improve DND’s access to the creative potential of Canadian innovators to build defence capability and economic impact. The program supports the formation of an innovation ecosystem from the early stages of an idea, creates awareness of defence and security challenges and mobilizes innovators to develop prototypes and capabilities for defence and security capabilities.

Successful Docking Demo for Imotus-1 HAUV

Cellula Robotics Ltd. (Cellula) has successfully demonstrated its Imotus-1 Hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicle. During a week of testing at local pool facility, Imotus-1 navigated using proprietary SLAM algorithms and was shown to hold station, waypoint track, maneuver around obstacles and dock to an underwater charging station. Inspection tools including point cloud map generation, high definition video, an ultrasonic thickness gauge and a light cleaning brush were also demonstrated.

The docking demonstration was sponsored by Ocean Networks Canada. This demonstration included communications between Imotus and the docking station using a blue-light modem, followed by autonomous docking.  When in the dock, Imotus received power and high bandwidth communication via a WiSub pin-less connector.

Scott McLean, Director of Ocean Networks Canada, said “this was an excellent demonstration of Canadian technology that has broad applications globally for both industry and research.  Cellula Robotics has really created an exceptional platform that we are looking forward to applying in many areas.  Demonstrating both wireless optical communications and contactless connectors for charging and high speed communications is an essential step to creating the next generation in hybrid AUV systems.”

Imotus-1 uses Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) algorithms to enable navigation, station keeping, route following and autonomous operation within confined space environments. Development of SLAM was made possible through funding from the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP).

In the first quarter of 2018 Imotus-1 will be used in the North Sea for commercial survey and inspection work inside the structural legs of an offshore platform.

Ocean Networks Canada was established in 2007 as a major initiative of the University of Victoria, Ocean Networks Canada operates world-leading ocean observatories for the advancement of science and the benefit of Canada. The observatories collect data on physical, chemical, biological, and geological aspects of the ocean over long time periods, supporting research on complex Earth processes in ways not previously possible. For more information, please visit their website: http://www.oceannetworks.ca/

NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program is Canada's premier innovation assistance program for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It is a vital component of the NRC, a cornerstone in Canada's innovation system, regarded world-wide as one of the best programs of its kind. For more information, please visit their website: https://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/irap/index.html

New Website & Hovering AUV Release

Cellula Robotics Ltd. is proud to launch a new website and introduce their first Hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (HAUV): Imotus-1. 

Imotus-1 is a Hovering AUV specifically designed to operate in confined environments, in a range of fluids.  The navigation solution incorporates Cellula’s proprietary Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) algorithms, using data from a suite of sensors to calculate its location inside a confined, unknown environment.  Imotus-1 carries a range of inspection sensors including a high resolution stills camera, ultrasonic thickness sensors and a light intervention cleaning tool.  Imotus-1 is available for purchase or lease.

Eric Jackson, President of Cellula Robotics Ltd. said: “We are excited to be entering the HAUV market with a vehicle designed to solve specific inspection challenges in confined spaces.  Over the past 18 months, Cellula has taken the strategic decision to develop this technology, building on our strong control systems experience.  With the global AUV market expected to grow significantly in the coming years and a drive to reduce costs in the Oil and Gas sector, we believe the Imotus family of vehicles will provide a new and cost effective solution to many inspection challenges.”

Cellula Awarded Imotus-1 Contract For Offshore Platform Survey

Cellula Robotics Ltd. has been awarded a contract to operate its Hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (HAUV) Imotus-1 for survey and inspection work on an offshore platform.  The work will be performed in January 2018 and includes an option for subsequent inspections on the same platform.

Cellula Awarded Imotus-1 Contract

Cellula Robotics Ltd. has been awarded a contract by Ocean Networks Canada to demonstrate subsea blue light communication, docking and charging of Cellula’s Hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (HAUV): Imotus-1.  The demonstration will occur by the end of 2017 in a confined space test tank.

Established in 2007 as a major initiative of the University of Victoria, Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) operates world-leading ocean observatories for the advancement of science and the benefit of Canada. The observatories collect data on physical, chemical, biological, and geological aspects of the ocean over long time periods, supporting research on complex Earth processes in ways not previously possible. For more information, please visit the ONC website.

Cellula Receives NRC-IRAP Funding for SLAM

Cellula Robotics Ltd. (Cellula) has been successfully awarded grant funding from the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP). 

The funding will go towards the development of a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) payload capabilities for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) operating in confined spaces.