Splash - Autonomous Patrol Boats for National Security
Guarding critical infrastructure against maritime threats
At Splash, we’re building the next generation of unmanned surface vessels to make the seas a safer place.
The Problem
Maritime threats are evolving faster than ever before and our most critical assets are at risk. Conflicts around the world have shown the threat autonomous boats pose to both commercial and military vessels, as well as to coastal infrastructure. There is currently no effective defense available.
Domestically, thousands of miles of our maritime borders remain unsecured as the Coast Guard simply doesn’t have the resources to patrol such vast distances. This allows narco-submarines to enter our country unchallenged.
Internationally, certain countries are facing the very real possibility of asymmetric Naval warfare and it is becoming clear that the leaders in autonomy will have major advantages in potential conflicts.
As our adversaries continue to advance in maritime robotics, these threats will only become more prevalent, and something must be done.
Our Solution
We’re building autonomous surface vessels (ASVs) to guard maritime borders, support Naval operations and provide security presence around critical pieces of infrastructure such as oil rigs and shipping terminals. Our algorithms will be able to identify suspicious vessels, classify threats and react immediately and autonomously. We’re building both the hardware and software in-house and from the ground up to ensure that everything integrates perfectly so that users can focus on their core missions.
Our vessels are modular, allowing for a variety of payloads from side-scan sonars for bathymetric mapping to deployable UAVs for wind turbine inspections. Although security is our primary focus, there are countless commercial use cases as well.
Our Progress
Over the past month, we designed, built and tested (then sunk and re-built) two iterations of our patrol boat. In fact, we moved so fast that we finished building our second one before the diver could even fish out the first. As they say, move fast and break things!
We’ve recently implemented full autonomy, and have already driven over a hundred miles in San Francisco bay without a single human input.
The Team
We’ve been friends for a decade, and we spent 6 of those years building our previous company in which we designed and manufactured airflow testing tools for government agencies and large industrial companies. Our customers include NASA, Tesla, the US Navy and even Los Alamos National Labs! We’ve manufactured tens of thousands of units across a few dozen SKUs so understand exactly what it takes to make a product at scale, and then sell to the largest of customers.
As hobbies, we’ve built everything from RC planes to electrohydrodynamic thrusters to deep-sea robots so Splash is a dream-come-true for us. What could possibly be more fun than building a 10ft-long AI-powered jet-boat that goes 70mph? Well… possibly a 100ft one 🙂
Our Ask
We’re always looking to further grow our Defense, Maritime and Oil&Gas connections, so if you know any decision-makers who work in these sectors, we’d love to chat at founders@splash9.com