iXblue has confirmed that its DriX USV (unmanned surface vessel) has been purchased by the Hydrographic Office of the Polish Navy, through the company’s local partner Thesta. DriX will be used by the Navy to enhance its hydrographic survey capabilities.
DriX is an 8-metre long USV designed to undertake a variety of different missions. Equipped with a state-of-the-art suite of sensors including radar, LiDAR and cameras, and powered by artificial intelligence, the USV analyzes its environment, avoids obstacles, and carries out its missions autonomously. With an efficient launch and recovery system, DriX can be launched from a vessel or can directly sail from a harbour to autonomously map large areas of the ocean quickly and efficiently.
Cezary Majchrowicz, Technical Director at Thesta, commented: “The Hydrographic Office of The Polish Navy has led the way towards the adoption of autonomous solutions within the Polish Navy, and we are honored that they turned to iXblue’s DriX USV as their next reliable and proven autonomous platform for future bathymetric surveys. By significantly increasing both the quality of the collected data and the survey area coverage, the use of this new USV will open up new possibilities for the Polish Hydrographic Office.”
Guillaume Eudeline, Global Business Development, Ships & Drones at iXblue, noted: “We are honored by the choice of the Polish Navy to operate our DriX Uncrewed Survey Vessel for survey applications in the wake of other prestigious international hydrographic services and private companies in the world such as the US NOAA. Offering outstanding seakeeping and speed capabilities, our DriX USV will act as a true force-multiplier and will help the Polish Navy acquire high quality data while optimizing their survey productivity, efficiency, safety and environmental footprint. We would like to thank them for their trust and are now looking forward to our continued partnership with them.”