Nauticus Robotics’ flagship Aquanaut robot. | Source: Nauticus Robotics
Nauticus Robotics and Leidos have partnered to advance the state of autonomous underwater robots. The companies plan to combine their complementary expertise to develop robots capable of tackling increasingly complex missions. The companies have previously worked together.
Texas-based Nauticus will apply its expertise in commercial subsea vehicle development. This includes its flagship Aquanaut robot and its proprietary software, ToolKITT. Nauticus also builds Olympic Arm, a subsea end effector that can be used for various tasks.
Leidos is a leading technology developer that serves a variety of customers and industries, including the U.S. government. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, the company has 48,000 global employees. Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $15.4 billion for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2023. It has previously developed autonomy software, autonomous ships, and other unmanned technologies to make maritime operations safer and more efficient for government and industry.
“We are thrilled to extend our relationship with Leidos through our targeted alliance,” said John Yamokoski, chief technology officer and vice president of defense at Nauticus Robotics. “This alliance underscores our shared commitment to pushing the boundaries of innovation in subsea autonomy.”
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Nauticus secured $12 million in a second tranche of investment in 2024. The company said with the funding, it planned to expedite commercialization of Aquanaut. Aquanaut can operate autonomously or users can remotely control the system, depending on what the customer needs at any moment. Additionally, it said it can perform a variety of underwater tasks, like managing aquaculture projects, repairing oil pipelines, and scanning seabeds.
Nauticus said it hit a number of deployment milestones in 2024. In September, it completed Aquanaut Mark 2 qualification and started commercial operations. It later completed its initial 2024 Gulf of Mexico field survey work for Shell and finished an evaluation agreement with a global oil and gas customer.
Nauticus said it’s now testing and certifying a new generation of vehicles to reduce operational costs and gather data to maintain and operate a wide variety of subsea infrastructure.
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