Tocaro Blue has launched ApolloCore™, a machine learning software solution designed to transform off-the-shelf Point-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) marine cameras into high-performance perception systems for autonomous and defense vessels.
The software is designed for integration into maritime autonomy stacks, providing real-time object detection and ranging, persistent tracking, and sensor fusion with radar. By integrating with a vessel’s Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), ApolloCore leverages vessel attitude data to improve camera stabilization, maintain precise pointing, and support reliable perception in dynamic maritime conditions.
Electro-optical and infrared cameras are essential sensors in maritime environments, providing the visual classification required to distinguish between vessels, navigation markers, and debris. While commercial PTZ cameras are typically designed for direct human operation, ApolloCore provides a comprehensive API toolset that enables development teams to adapt these systems for Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) operating in defense, security, and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions.
ApolloCore applies a marine detection model trained on more than 3.5 million images of marine objects. The system supports the detection and classification of multiple objects simultaneously across more than a dozen COLREGS-compliant classes, including eight vessel types, navigation markers, and specialized classes such as persons and debris. The software also supports third-party detection models trained on customer-specific datasets.
ApolloCore is designed to integrate with existing maritime sensor architectures and is natively compatible with ProteusCore™, Tocaro Blue’s radar processing software. When deployed together, the systems provide measurement-level sensor fusion, combining radar-based wide-area detection and motion tracking with camera-based visual identification and classification. While fusing radar and camera detections can be complex to implement, ApolloCore and ProteusCore are designed to provide an out-of-the-box solution for enhanced maritime perception.
Together, ApolloCore and ProteusCore create a complementary perception stack intended to improve situational awareness and tracking confidence across a vessel’s operating environment.
John Minor, CEO of Tocaro Blue, commented, “Autonomous vessels don’t just need sensors. They need perception. With ApolloCore and ProteusCore, we’re building the software layer that enables vessels to interpret the world around them with the clarity and context of a human operator—and ultimately exceed it.”
ApolloCore is deployed as an executable software application that runs on GPU hardware and integrates through developer APIs for autonomy, navigation, and ISR systems. The software can operate as a standalone camera perception system or alongside ProteusCore, allowing USV builders and defense integrators to tailor deployments to mission requirements.
By delivering software that enables vessels to interpret and respond to their environment, Tocaro Blue is supporting the development of next-generation autonomous and crewed maritime platforms. The launch of ApolloCore marks a step forward in the company’s ongoing work in maritime perception technologies for commercial and defense applications.
