The Royal Navy has announced that its sailors are examining how artificial intelligence (AI) could be applied to maritime engineering, following an innovation day attended by engineers from Fleet Support Units Archimedes and Brunel.
The event, held under the banner of Project Innovate, took place on 27 August and brought together 30 engineers to assess AI’s potential for analysis, maintenance, and predicting component failure.
According to Navy News here, the event featured contributions from technology firms including C3.ai, AWS, and Squarcle, all of which demonstrated how AI-based systems are already enhancing operational effectiveness in military and maritime environments by reducing downtime and improving stores support.
Commander Will Jones, Commander Operational Support at SURFLOT, said: “Project Innovate is about more than just technology, it’s about empowering our engineers to think differently, to challenge convention and in the context of this event, to explore how AI can be practically applied to real world engineering problems.”
He added: “Events like this play an important role in helping our engineers stay informed and engaged with emerging technologies, supporting our drive to deliver smarter, faster and more resilient support to the Fleet.”
Chris Byrne, senior director of Strategic Solutions at C3.ai, commented: “Our team were delighted to have the opportunity to meet the FSU engineers and to be able to offer a perspective on the evolving technology landscape and its potential applications within their engineering operations.”
The Royal Navy said the inaugural event marked a significant step in the Fleet Support Units’ strategy to integrate emerging technologies into engineering practice. By embedding AI into continual professional development, engineers are being equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to meet future challenges.
The FSUs continue to provide what the Navy described as scalable, agile and sustainable engineering support to Royal Navy vessels both in home waters and on deployment around the world.
“ The Royal Navy has announced that its sailors are examining how artificial intelligence (AI) could be applied to maritime engineering”
I’d be happier if RNs engineers were examining this!