12 October 2017
BMT has secured funding through the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), to build a prototype Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) which will allow a team of responders to remotely assess a scene for potentially hazardous materials and predict the likely impact. The system will be able to autonomously gather up-to-date information of the terrain, structures, weather and hazardous gases and then present the user with a 2D and 3D map of the area of interest in a matter of minutes in a familiar form.
Antony Waldock, Principal System Analyst at BMT explains: “Responders to potentially hazardous scenes are required to take the necessary precautions before entering the scene. The ability to use an autonomous vehicle to scan the area during deployment would reduce the time taken to respond to the threat.”
Phase two of this project combines the output from two previous R&D initiatives to deliver technology that can be used on a standard, commercial off the shelf Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) or integrated with a specialist UAV.
In the first project, BMT and Rescue Global worked together to better understand how the data captured by a UAV could aid a team of responders to perform Survey, Refine, Map and Sample and from there, they built early prototypes of the tool that could be used on mobile, tablet and desktop. In the second project, Heriot-Watt and Edinburgh University collaborated to develop state-of-the-art gas sensing and dispersion modelling technology on-board a UAV.
Simon Luck, Head of Information Systems comments: “Funding from the DASA will enable BMT to deliver a prototype system that could literally save lives by rapidly accessing a scene for hazardous material and predicting the potential impact. We will be working closely with the emergency services and our partners to deliver a prototype for trials next year. The end goal will be to deploy the system into the boot of the car of every responder within the next few years.”
A video of this work is available here.
13 January 2021
The Strategic Development Team – comprising DE&S personnel, industrial representatives from Babcock and BAE Systems, CACI and BMT - has been recognised for achieving ‘Full Operating Capability’ for the Common Support Model programme supporting the Royal Navy’s fleet of complex warships.
6 January 2021
We are pleased to announce that Maritime UK has confirmed the appointment of Sarah Kenny OBE as its new Chair, effective this month.
14 December 2020
BMT has been awarded a project by the UK Seafood Innovation Fund to address current pressing issues facing aquaculture in Scotland.
10 December 2020
Throughout 2020, BMT has worked with a range of commercial and government customers worldwide on a plethora of innovative ship design projects.