Robotics and the Blue Economy

It is no secret that San Diego, tucked away in the southwest corner of America’s largest state by GDP, is rapidly emerging as a hotspot for the development of robotic technology. The pulse of San Diego’s “Robot Valley”, as it is increasingly referred to, is the University of California, San Diego, but the ecosystem is supported by a multitude of private and public research institutions and industry heavy weights such as microchip maker Qualcomm, defence contractor Northrop Grumman, and drone manufacturer General Atomics. Add to the mix a top tech manufacturing cluster known as the “78 Corridor,” a host of small and mid-sized university spinoff companies, and proximity to the US Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, and it is easy to see why San Diego excels in the field of robotics, especially for the maritime domain.

It is to “Robot Valley” that we had the distinct pleasure of welcoming seventeen of the UK’s top marine roboticists and policy makers (from the Royal Navy, DfT, Dstl, UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency, National Oceanography Centre, as well as centres in Southampton, Plymouth, Belfast, Newcastle, and Edinburgh) for The Maritime Alliance’s 9th Annual Blue Tech Week. The group came to San Diego to discuss the future of marine autonomy with their US counterparts, to look for new opportunities, and to showcase UK excellence in maritime technology. The visit was by a capped by a half-day workshop, facilitated by the Royal Navy, on UK-US collaborative opportunities in the maritime domain. US and UK federal agencies, industry, and academia participated with a report on the findings currently being drafted by the Royal Navy.

Even though their stay in America’s Finest City was brief, we learned a great deal from our UK guests and US hosts. Marine Autonomous Systems (MAS) will play an increasingly important role in many of the sub-sectors that make up the $1.5 trillion Blue Economy (i.e. offshore oil & gas, mineral mining, maritime transport, renewables) and the UK is well-positioned to become a global centre of excellence for maritime robotics. Additionally, the UK has Europe’s largest Blue Tech capacity and is a global leader in maritime ICT, autonomous systems, instrumentation, vessel technologies, maritime services, and a world class naval power.