Advanced Ocean Systems (AOS) was founded in late 2021 with a singular mission: to support offshore operators with the custom engineering, manufacturing, and installation services needed to manage cradle-to-grave ocean systems projects. Today, as a Small Business, AOS offers a unique spectrum of capabilities designed to integrate autonomous and remote systems—from seabed to the surface—into the at-sea operations of the defense, offshore energy, subsea infrastructure, and scientific markets.
While a relatively new name to the market, AOS is backed by over 45 years of highly specialized marine engineering product design; more than 20 years of fielding breakthrough uncrewed marine technology platforms; and nearly 25 years of delivering complex subsea system integration and multistakeholder project management. Such weighty credentials, afforded the Group by its well-established trinity of businesses—SeaRobotics, Ocean Specialists, and Okeanus Science & Technology—allow AOS to establish a unique position in the ocean solutions space.
HARNESSING CRITICAL EXPERTISE
“First and foremost, we are a capabilities company,” explained AOS CEO John Jacobson. “While our affiliate companies are industry-recognized in their own right and will continue to operate as such, AOS is taking a proactive approach to bring cost-effective technical innovation and systems integration expertise to the field, be that a battlefield, offshore energy field, or any other marine environment.
Central to AOS ambitions is the steady introduction, integration, and expansion of autonomous and remote systems in the marine space. This is common ground to AOS’ affiliate companies:
- SeaRobotics offers both commercial-off-the-shelf USVs and fully custom options, with rapidly deployable, fully integrated models (SR Surveyor Class), mid-sized units designed to offer greater in-field versatility and pair with interchangeable payloads (SR Utility Class), and a series of larger USVs that maximize range and endurance in challenging waters (SR Endurance Class).
- Ocean Specialists has completed over 200 international projects for government and commercial partners around the globe, designing and delivering end-to-end project management, supplier integration services, and the evaluation, planning, and installations of critical seabed infrastructure, such as submarine cable networks and subsea nodes.
- Okeanus has fielded a growing range of heavy-duty winches and custom LARS to deploy and uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs), remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), as well as other subsea assets. In addition, Okeanus offers an extensive pool of leased equipment that can be mobilized quickly from strategic locations.
But it is the sum of these parts, and the cross-company synergies that AOS prioritizes in its collective offering, that demands attention.
READY TO SERVE
“Naturally, there are numerous outfits out there that promise a full suite of engineering and fabrication capabilities to the ocean industry,” added Mr. Jacobson, “but we believe that our Group’s unique expertise in creating custom solutions for such a broad range of clients over almost a century of documented collective systems R&D know-how places us in a unique position to satisfy any technical brief, from seabed to surface, and from rapid prototyping to full-scale developments.”
Following the January completion of AOS’ acquisition of Ocean Specialists, the company is poised for take-off. After all, the rate at which the ocean industry embraces true autonomy will undoubtedly hinge on the capacity for trusted system developers to pool their refined talents to rapidly assess, develop, and scale practical solutions that effectively leverage the promise of remote operations. AOS is ready.
This feature appeared in ON&T’s 2024 Naval Defense & Security March edition, to read more access the magazine here.