Funded by Innovate UK, this fourth KTP will support Seiche Water Technology Group, global specialists in underwater acoustics and noise measurement, as they develop their suite of technologies to meet the increasing environmental and commercial needs of their clients.
Dr Philippe Blondel, Department of Physics, and Dr Alan Hunter, Department of Mechanical Engineering, will work together to provide the academic Knowledge Base of this latest partnership.
Software engineer Jan Bujalka will lead the project at Seiche, with the KTP Associate benefiting from both academic and industrial settings. Additional support and training will be provided from the University’s KTP team throughout the project.
The new funding builds on a history of partnership success, with the first two KTPs (2012-14 and 2014-17, the latter led by Philippe Blondel) being awarded the highest grade of ‘Outstanding’ by Innovate UK, and the third KTP (2015-2018, also led by Philippe Blondel) being awarded the grade of “Excellent”.
The team will work with two of Seiche Group’s flagship technologies: AutoNaut, the wave-propelled unmanned surface vessel powered entirely by renewable energy and an enhanced version of Seiche’s towed Digital Thin Line Array (DTLA), integrating hydrophones to detect and analyse targets underwater or at the surface.
These two research strands will merge to offer Seiche Group a powerful new platform for unmanned, remote acoustic surveying, generating little self-noise and enabling long endurance.
Deployment of the platform will benefit several markets, including oil and gas exploration, offshore renewable energy developments, and seismic and marine surveying. It also offers potential applications in the defence sector.
Philippe Blondel says:
Seiche is doing pioneering work in monitoring the oceans, and we have always enjoyed a great and open working relationship. As the Seiche Water Technology Group has expanded in the last years, its development of AutoNaut will revolutionise mapping of marine soundscapes and sound sources, in a very varied range of environments.
Alan Hunter says:
The innovative combination of AutoNaut wave-propelled autonomous vehicles with digital thin line array technology offers a new capability for persistent ocean surveillance. This is expected to lead to business opportunities in the commercial, environmental, and naval domains. We are excited to work together with Seiche on this project.
Mark Burnett, COO of Seiche Water Technology Group, comments:
We are thrilled to be working once again with University of Bath’s world class academics to support our ambitious R&D programme. This keeps Seiche Group leading the field with the ground-breaking solutions we offer our clients.
This KTP is supported by UK Research and Innovation as part of the government’s Industrial Strategy.
For further information on Innovate UK-funded KTPs contact:
KTP Team
ktp@bath.ac.uk
01225 383904
For further information on Seiche Water Technology Group contact:
Sam Nichols, Group Marketing Director
s.nichols@seiche.com
01409 404050
