Buffalo Automation is an

artificial intelligence (AI) Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

startup that develops autonomous navigation technology for commercial ships, recreational boats, and

water taxis A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or o ...

with the goal to improve

maritime safety Maritime safety as part of and overlapping with water safety is concerned with the protection of life (search and rescue) and property through regulation, management and technology development of all forms of waterborne transportation. The execut ...

. It is a private company based in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. Thiru Vikram is the CEO of the company.

History

Buffalo Automation was founded by Thiru Vikram, Alexander Zhitelzeyf and Emilie Reynolds, who were engineering students at the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 18 ...

. Originating as a university

research Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

project, the concept was transformed into a company in 2015.

AutoMate

The team developed AutoMate, a predictive system which uses

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech r ...

technology and neural networks to coordinate and integrate data, decisions, and actions based on

nautical maps A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a sea area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale (map), scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land (topographic map), natural features of the seabed, detail ...

, cameras, sensors,

thermal imaging Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video and/or thermal imaging, is a process where a thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are examples of infrared i ...

, broadband radars,

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...

, LiDAR and Automatic Identification System (AIS). The system allows autonomous identification and safe navigation around stationary objects, swimmers, and other vessels within the surrounding . Initially developed as a

fleet management Fleet management is the management of: * Commercial motor vehicles such as cars, vans, trucks, specialist vehicles (such as mobile construction machinery), forklifts, and trailers * Private vehicles used for work purposes (the 'grey fleet') * Av ...

and

autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...

solution for the commercial shipping industry, the technology has since been adapted for use with recreational boats, including

yachts A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

and

motorboats A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gea ...

. Initial tests were performed in 2015, using a -long catamaran equipped with the AutoMate system. In addition to hazard identification and avoidance, the AutoMate system also employs neural networks to recognize navigation signs, help vessels maneuver in compliance with International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS), and interpret weather conditions. The technology helps in fuel efficiency, which was tested in 2018 on vessels in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

. In early 2018, Buffalo Automation began tests of a -long

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

pleasure boat made by Sea Ray, a boat manufacturer owned by the

Brunswick Boat Group The Brunswick Boat Group, headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, is the largest maker of pleasure boats in the world. The company's net sales were US$1.7 billion in 2008, and US$1.0 billion in 2012. The Boat Group makes Sea Ray, Ba ...

. Also in 2018, Buffalo Automation expanded its sales focus to Europe. Fully autonomous navigation of

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

was in development as of 2020.

The Mayday

In 2020, Buffalo Automation introduced The Mayday (originally named Greycraft), a free app. Designed to encourage people to experiment with and experience

technology that is otherwise not readily accessible to the average person, ''The Mayday'' operates as a self-contained offline neural network capable of detecting boats, ships, and other vessels visible to a cell phone camera. ''The Mayday'' app is also used to hail Buffalo Automation's ''Greycraft'' self-driving water taxis.

Greycraft

In 2021, Buffalo Automation unveiled a self-driving

water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or o ...

, Greycraft. Fully autonomous, ''Greycraft'' uses cameras, laser scanners, radar, satellite, GPS, compass information, and

(AI) to evaluate the surroundings and guide itself. The autonomous solar and electric-powered water taxi was first demonstrated to

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

Mayor

Indya Kincannon Indya Kincannon (born March 30, 1971) is an American politician who serves as the 69th Mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee since 2019. She won the 2019 mayoral election with more than 52% of the runoff vote over opponent Eddie Mannis. She is Knoxville' ...

on January 7, 2021. As part of the region's green urbanism efforts, as of 2021 ''Greycraft'' is pending government approval to allow public use as a water taxi or passenger ferry in East Tennessee. Upon approval, patrons would access the water taxi service using Buffalo Automation's ''Mayday'' ride-hailing app. The on-board solar panels and

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

used to power ''Greycraft's'' engine and AI (

) navigation system have a capacity of six hours and enable speeds up to . ''Greycraft's'' quiet engine and solar-charging system provide a sustainable transport alternative, minimize marine acoustic disruption, and avoid environmental impacts associated with fuel and oil residue leaked in aquatic environments. Trials of the United Kingdom's first ''robot

'', watercraft equipped with Buffalo Automation's AutoMate autonomous navigation system, were scheduled for summer 2020 in Plymouth (UK) but postponed as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In July 2021, a Greycraft ferry began service in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Kagerplassen {{coord, 52, 12, 19, N, 4, 32, 18, E, type:waterbody_region:NL_scale:60000, display=title The ''Kagerplassen'' (a Dutch term meaning "the Kaag Lakes") is a small lake system in South Holland located to the northeast of Leiden.Some of the informa ...

lake district, "Europe's first commercial

robotaxi A robotaxi, also known as robo-raxi, self-driving taxi or driverless taxi, is an autonomous car (SAE automation level 4 or 5) operated for a ridesharing company. Some studies have hypothesized that robotaxis operated in an autonomous mobility on ...

service". Subsidized by funding from the South Holland provincial government, the self-propelled Vaar met Ferry service connects pedestrian and bicyclists from

Warmond Warmond () is a village and former municipality in the Western Netherlands, north of Leiden in the province of South Holland. The municipality covered an area of 14.42 km² (5.57 mile², 30.7%) of which 4.42 km² (1.71 mile²) is water; ...

-Kagerzoom and

Leiderdorp Leiderdorp () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland near the city of Leiden. It had a population of in . The municipality covers an area of of which is water. Leiderdorp has now become a suburb ...

to the Koudenhoorn Recreation Area. The ferry service was implemented in collaboration with the

Delft University of Technology Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...

, Future Mobility Network, Buffalo Automation, and the South Holland provincial government in order to provide a sustainable transport option and reduce crowding on the existing access bridge as COVID restrictions have increased recreation area usage. Passengers use Buffalo Automation's Mayday ridesharing app to hail the robotaxi. Buffalo Automation supplies the software and training to third party companies or organizations who own and operate the ferries.

Bifrost

In 2020, Buffalo Automation redeveloped its thermal imaging software to enable rapid skin temperature scanning of multiple people in a crowd for the purpose of detecting

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

. This adaptation was initiated in response to a health care and

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

sector unmet need created by the

. Named Bifrost, the system operates as a Software as a service (SaaS) solution, where Buffalo Automation's

convolutional neural network In deep learning, a convolutional neural network (CNN, or ConvNet) is a class of artificial neural network (ANN), most commonly applied to analyze visual imagery. CNNs are also known as Shift Invariant or Space Invariant Artificial Neural Netwo ...

is combined with existing thermal imaging equipment in order to rapidly report the skin temperature of different facial regions of each individual in a crowd. In July 2020, the Bifrost Project was piloted at the entry to the

Neurosurgery Center of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Funding

Grants from SUNY and

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

business plan competition prizes helped bootstrap early activity. In 2016, Buffalo Automation secured its first private placement, US$25,000 in pre-

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

investments from Launch NY and Z80 Labs. In 2018, it raised a total of $900,000 in a

seed funding Seed money, sometimes known as seed funding or seed capital, is a form of securities offering in which an investor invests capital in a startup company in exchange for an equity stake or convertible note stake in the company. The term ''seed'' su ...

round led by the Jacobs family office, with Z80 making a US$100,000 follow-on investment. In 2020, the company raised US$650,000 through two rounds of

convertible note In finance, a convertible bond or convertible note or convertible debt (or a convertible debenture if it has a maturity of greater than 10 years) is a type of bond that the holder can convert into a specified number of shares of common stock i ...

issuance. In the second, the

's ''Innovation Seed Fund'' made its inaugural venture capital investment, investing US$250,000 in Buffalo Automation. Varia Consulting Group subsequently matched that US$250,000 investment.

Awards and recognition

* In 2015, Buffalo Automation won the inaugural Buffalo Student Sandbox, an accelerator program. * In 2016, it won the

's Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition. The same year, the company was nominated as a finalist for the ''Innovation Award'' by

Lloyd's List ''Lloyd's List'' is one of the world's oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. It was published daily until 2013 (when the final print issue, number 60,850, was published), and is ...

, and won the New York Business Plan Competition, under the Information Technology/Software category. * In 2018, Buffalo Automation was a semifinalist in

43 North 43 North is an accelerator programme, founded by Empire State Development and the State of New York, that hosts an annual startup competition investing $5 million per year to attract and cultivate high-growth companies in Buffalo, NY. 43North p ...

, a startup pitch competition. *In 2019, Buffalo Automation's flagship product, the AutoMate won the second annual XCELLENCE Awards by the

Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International The Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, also known as AUVSI, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting the unmanned systems and robotics industry through communication, education and lea ...

(AUVSI) for Detect & Avoid Solutions.

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

's ICAROUS placed second and Auterion's PX4 Avoidance was awarded third place. *In 2022, Buffalo Automation was listed on DarkRound as one of the 101 Most Innovative Taxi Service Companies.

References

{{Reflist Autonomous ships Companies based in Buffalo, New York American companies established in 2015 Emerging technologies Experimental vehicles Robotics companies Unmanned surface vehicles Uncrewed vehicles Marine electronics Navigation Navigation system companies Technology companies established in 2015 2015 establishments in New York (state) Solar-powered vehicles Boating Unmanned surface vehicle manufacturers