Metron Inc. (Metron), a trusted provider of advanced research, scientific, and software solutions for government and commercial markets, is pleased to announce the signing of a partnership agreement with Cellula Robotics, USA Inc. (Cellula), to expand uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) capabilities for advanced operations in dynamic environments. The new agreement will leverage the expertise of both companies and address specific technical gaps in the UUV defence and offshore energy markets especially for long duration, multi-payload mission operations where communications are often denied or restricted. As part of the new alliance, Metron’s Resilient Mission Autonomy™ portfolio will be integrated into Cellula’s Solus and Imotus families of vehicles to deliver AI-enabled situational awareness and execute real-time onboard mission adaption, rerouting and replanning, all with a multi-payload management system and the flexibility for ship or port-to-port mission deployments. Cellula’s Solus-LR and Solus-XR platforms (the latter with an operational range of at least 5,000 kilometers), will be equipped with Cellula’s cutting-edge hydrogen fuel cell technology, supporting sustainable, long duration operations with zero carbon emissions. The result is a scalable UUV solution using a reconfigurable vehicle profile that will lower risk, reduce cost, and maximize mission flexibility and efficiencies to better serve the U.S. Defense, Offshore energy, subsea telecommunications, and marine scientific exploration markets.
"This strategic collaboration signifies a major milestone in harnessing the expertise of Metron and Cellula to advance the frontier of long duration, multi-payload subsea capabilities," said Van Gurley, CEO of Metron. "We are thrilled to collaborate with Cellula to deliver disruptive innovations that will enable greater capability and impact for both the U.S. Defense and commercial clients.”
“This partnership represents a shared commitment to leverage expertise in the areas of hardware, software, and fuel cell technologies to expand UUV missions for dynamic and long-duration missions,” stated Neil Manning, CEO of Cellula Robotics, USA. “ The combined brain trust of Cellula and Metron brings hundreds of years of real world expertise to solve many of the challenges seen in subsea harsh environments, and reaffirms the critical role industry has to play delivering disruptive innovations into the evolving landscape of surface and subsea maritime missions.”
As surface and subsea operations mature, government agencies and commercial companies are looking to speed up the development of uncrewed platforms that can work alone or in tandem to cover larger areas more efficiently and sustainably, especially in commercial surveys, and/or persist in the environment for very long periods of time.
As part of the collaboration, Metron and Cellula will actively deliver their joint solutions to national security stakeholders and the commercial offshore energy customers. In addition, both parties will be actively engaged in offshore energy inspection and survey technology developments which will benefit the operational planning, execution, and data deliveries for the entire offshore supply chain. The combined solution will allow for high value data to be collected and quality flagged, with the added value of adapted mission planning on location to influenced vehicle behaviors, all with a zero emissions pledge. The companies are commercializing long- operational endurance, payload- and mission-capable systems that allow for multiple weeks at sea, above and below the waves, with lower risks and reduced costs.
