AGISTAR manufactures cutting-edge robotic vehicle solutions for diverse water management and research applications. UST sat down with Andre Gallissaires, to discuss their intelligent and adaptable USVs, designed to streamline scientific and environmental missions worldwide.
Can you give us an overview of AGISTAR’s core mission and how your technologies are advancing unmanned systems operations?
AGISTAR’s core mission is to democratize access to marine technology by removing barriers of cost and complexity. We specialize in developing intelligent, flexible USVs that adapt to a wide range of scientific missions, from oceanographic research to environmental monitoring.
Our technologies advance unmanned systems operations by integrating smart navigation, low-energy propulsion, and modular payloads, allowing for precise, autonomous missions in diverse aquatic environments. AGISTAR combines performance with eco-responsibility, using sustainable materials and developing systems that reduce environmental impact while enhancing operational efficiency.
Your autonomous navigation solutions are at the heart of AGISTAR’s offering, what sets them apart from other autonomous control systems on the market?
What sets AGISTAR’s autonomous navigation systems apart is their unique blend of accessibility, flexibility, and ease of use. Designed to be affordable, lightweight, and compact, our USVs are easy to transport and deploy, even in hard-to-reach areas where larger USV’s cannot go.
Our USVs are user-friendly and fully customizable, adapting to all types of missions. Whether it involves research, monitoring, or aquaculture, AGISTAR offers smart, reliable solutions.
At AGISTAR, we don’t just offer a product, we provide personalized engineering support. Our team works directly with clients to ensure that each USV’s is optimized for the mission at hand, delivering reliable performance without compromising on cost or usability.
Can you explain how AGISTAR addresses challenges in GPS-denied environments, and what types of sensor fusion or alternative navigation methods are utilized?
The BX-USV is designed to operate reliably even in GPS-free environments, thanks to a navigation strategy based on sensor fusion and alternative technologies.
The user receives information in real-time via the USV’s control system and is displayed through our mobile application and software. If the GPS connection is lost, live video imagery is streamed directly to the remote controller, ensuring continuous situational awareness.
This is enabled by a digital wireless transmission system, which functions similarly to a wireless network. If ever the USV is lost, it can continue to follow the established route or it will automatically come back to the starting point.
What levels of autonomy do your systems support, and how do you handle remote supervision, manual override, or shared control scenarios?
The BX-USV supports multiple levels of autonomy to adapt to different operational needs. It can operate in manual mode, where the operator controls the USV in real time via a remote control or a computer, and autonomous mode, where the USV follows a pre-defined mission plan (waypoints) including path adjustments and return to the starting point if needed.
For remote supervision, operators can monitor the USV in real-time through a dedicated control interface (remote control), which displays live telemetry, sonar data, video feed, battery level, and mission progress. This ensures full situational awareness even when the USV is operating autonomously.
We also provide a manual override function, allowing the operator to immediately take control at any time.
This flexible autonomy structure makes the BX-USV reliable for both routine missions and complex, adaptive environments.
What recent innovations or product developments is AGISTAR most excited about, and what’s next on the roadmap for your unmanned technology solutions?
We are excited about the development of the world’s first remotely controlled electric propeller, the OXR T100, designed for quick integration within one minute onto inflatable boats. This compact, lightweight, and secure propeller is ideally suited for researchers conducting bathymetry missions.
We are currently developing a new generation of USV propellers designed to serve as replacements only in the event of entanglement with seaweed or mechanical failure of the underwater propulsion system.
Our research and development teams are constantly working to push the boundaries of innovation.
Thanks very much for your time today, and best of luck with your new product development, we look forward to hearing more.
