Bluefin Robotics is an American

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...

company, headquartered in Quincy,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, which specialises in the design and manufacture of military and civilian

autonomous underwater vehicle An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is a robot that travels underwater without requiring input from an operator. AUVs constitute part of a larger group of undersea systems known as unmanned underwater vehicles, a classification that includes ...

s (AUVs) and related technology. The company was founded in 1997, and became a

wholly owned subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company (law), company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company ...

Battelle Memorial Institute Battelle Memorial Institute (more widely known as simply Battelle) is a private nonprofit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Battelle is a charitable trust organized as a nonprofit corporation u ...

in 2005. Its products include the

Bluefin-21 The Bluefin-21 is an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) developed by Bluefin Robotics for defence, commercial or scientific use. It found its most famous use in April 2014 in the search for the wreckage of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 3 ...

underwater search robot and its military derivative, the Knifefish

minesweeping Minesweeping is the practice of the removal of explosive naval mines, usually by a specially designed ship called a minesweeper using various measures to either capture or detonate the mines, but sometimes also with an aircraft made for that ...

AUV, which entered service with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 2017. Bluefin was involved in the development of several advanced Navy projects, including the Black Pearl AUV and the Proteus optionally-manned submersible.

Company history and overview

Bluefin Robotics was founded in 1997 by Dr James Bellingham and Frank van Mierlo, both engineers from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. Dr Bellingham was the manager of the MIT AUV laboratory. Frank van Mierlo was the CEO of Bluefin from 1997 until August 2005. At the outset the company had a contract from ONR to build the BPAUV and an order from Racal to build two deep-water survey vehicles. Both contracts were completed successfully. In the first eight years of its existence Bluefin was always profitable and each year grew by double digits. In many ways Bluefin started the AUV industry. Jim Bellingham was the first person to build a small AUV at MIT (the Seasquirt vehicle). Bluefin Robotics was the first independent AUV company in the world and the original employees of the company went on and started twelve other ventures many of which were in the Marine robotics industry. In 2005, the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of the

, an

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

-based

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

company. In 2010, Bluefin Robotics won a gold award at the 7th Annual Team Massachusetts Economic Impact Awards, and in 2013 it received accolades from ''R&D Magazine'' and the ''Robotics Business Review''. In April 2014, it received a US$7.11 million federal contract from the US Navy's

Office of Naval Research The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan ...

for the development of the Navy's experimental Black Pearl AUV. , Bluefin Robotics employs around 200 people. The company is a member of several business and technology associations, including the

Marine Technology Society The Marine Technology Society (MTS) is a professional society that serves the international community of approximately 3,800 ocean engineers, technologists, policy-makers, and educators. The goal of the society, which was founded in 1963, is to pr ...

(MTS), 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), the Mine Warfare Association (MINWARA), the

National Defense Industrial Association The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) is a trade association for the United States government and defense industrial base. It is an 501(c)3 educational organization. Its headquarters are in Arlington, Virginia. NDIA was established ...

(NDIA) and the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council (MassTLC). In February 2016,

General Dynamics Mission Systems General Dynamics Mission Systems is a business unit of American defense and aerospace company General Dynamics. General Dynamics Mission Systems integrates secure communication and information systems and technology. General Dynamics Mission Syste ...

acquired Bluefin Robotics. Bluefin Robotics will become part of General Dynamics Mission Systems’ Maritime and Strategic Systems line of business. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed.

In the media

The company's Bluefin-21, is a

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

-shaped multirole AUV, was used in the search for Malaysian airlines MH370. The Knifefish, a derivative of the Bluefin-21, was developed in partnership with

General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems General Dynamics Mission Systems is a business unit of American defense and aerospace company General Dynamics. General Dynamics Mission Systems integrates secure communication and information systems and technology. General Dynamics Mission Syste ...

to perform

operations for the US Navy, replacing the trained minesweeping

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...

s and sealions of the

Marine Mammal Program The U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program (NMMP) is a program administered by the U.S. Navy which studies the military use of marine mammals - principally bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions - and trains animals to perform tasks such as ship ...

in concert with the Navy's

Littoral Combat Ship The littoral combat ship (LCS) is either of two classes of relatively small surface vessels designed for operations near shore by the United States Navy. It was "envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeat ...

s. The Knifefish is scheduled to begin

sea trials A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and i ...

in 2015 and to enter into active naval service in 2017. The Bluefin SandShark Micro-AUV is an autonomous UUV weighing less than 15 pounds. Its functions include intelligence missions, small-scale survey missions recovering data, communications relays, conducting training, or functioning as a decoy for the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

. HAUV is a two-man-portable hovering AUV designed for real-time data identification of structural issues on a ship's hull. In March 2011, an HAUV was used to inspect the hull of the Navy's oldest commissioned warship, USS ''Constitution'', in Boston Harbor. In 2016, in conjunction with the

, Bluefin Robotics developed the third generation Hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (HAUV-3).

Company history and overview

In the media

References

See also