Thales, a specialist in autonomous maritime and aerospace technology, has opened a new centre for the Maritime Autonomy Centre in Plymouth, UK.
The Thales UK Maritime Autonomy Centre is designed to enable the testing of major autonomy programmes.
Automation is a key goal for the UK maritime industry. In October 2018, the government announced a new partnership with industry leader L3 ASV to research the potential of autonomous navigation in ships.
The new centre was officially opened at a ceremony attended by Gary Streeter, MP for South West Devon, who praised Thales’ innovation.
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He said: “We’ve been talking for many years about bringing together the maritime and the intellectual capacity, and what Thales is really doing in opening this centre is bringing this dream into reality.”
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Patrick Hartop, Head of City Deal, Plymouth City Council, was also present and said: “This really fast-tracks us into the future the and the 21st century, it’s a very important step for us”.
Chris Wardman, Sales and Business Development Manager, Thales, also commented: We’ve shown the minister a different way of thinking.
“It is a much better way, a more collaborative way of bringing technology to the forefront”.