Determining the Practical Boundaries of Feasibility When Upscaling Uncrewed Surface Vessels for Military and Civilian Applications

Abstract

While many of the technologies required to completely remove human presence from surface vessels have existed for decades, some are still in development and at least a few that will prove crucial to successful implementation have not yet been invented. This thesis examines the current state of the various required shipboard automation technologies to the extent such information is available to the public and attempts to identify the missing or lagging pieces in order to establish the current boundaries of economic feasibility for scaling up from the already-proven small unmanned surface vessels to larger military and commercial applications. By scouring press releases, industry articles, and professional studies as well as interviewing individuals involved in autonomous technologies from across the maritime and power generation industries, this research captures a snapshot of the advances, issues, and restrictions currently inherent in uncrewed surface vessel implementation and presents them in a singular, cohesive document suitable for thoroughly familiarizing industry decision-makers. The research finds that while smaller uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) are prolific and well-established, scaling up in size and its requisite increase in overall complexity becomes more economically challenging when design requirements pass specific thresholds in any of a handful of categories. The line between economically feasible and economically challenging runs through the factors of: building anew or converting an existing vessel; the amount of heat rejection (cooling capacity) required; whether power and energy requirements exceed currently available battery capacity; the number of motor-operated valves required in the design; the allowable elapsed time to provide human intervention in the event of a major malfunction; and the tolerance for total loss of the USV. While larger and more complex USVs are possible and certainly on the horizon, they may not be economically feasible for a given application due to the current limitations of specific equipment. This thesis examines those factors in turn.