dotOcean and Marlinks join forces in DIANA initiative organized by NATO
A joint proposal submitted by dotOcean and its sister company Marlinks on the topic of ‘persistent surveillance above and under water’ has been chosen to participate in NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), following the selection of 44 projects out of 1300 applications.
This first DIANA cohort shows NATO’s commitment to harnessing innovation for defence and dual-use applications. The selected initiatives will receive funding and a fast-track to adapt the company’s proposed solution for both defence and security needs.
“dotOcean is eager to engage with NATO in the development and deployment of an integrated sensor network incorporating various sensor types, along with data fusion software. This technology is designed to offer an advanced situational awareness platform capable of identifying both surface and sub-surface threats. We are enthusiastic about the potential of this innovation to protect critical maritime assets such as offshore wind farm export cables, gas pipelines, and telecommunication cables.” says Koen Geirnaert, CEO of dotOcean
Through the integration of diverse above-water observation tools such as radar, cameras, and infrared technology installed on offshore infrastructure, along with a sub-surface fiber sensor network utilizing Distributed Acoustic Sensing technology, the system is designed for real-time monitoring of movements.
Roel Vanthillo, CEO Marlinks, states: “The selection of dotOcean and Marlinks’ proposal by DIANA shows the significance of NATO acknowledging our collective experience in sea monitoring, particularly in Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) and advanced data analytics. As a pioneer in cable integrity monitoring, we can only applaud NATO’s recognition of our expertise in this crucial domain.”
The program will kick off in January 2024 and will consist of grant funding to support the technology development and demonstration, a customized commercial and defence-focused accelerator program and access to test and evaluation resources across the Alliance.
About DIANA – NATO
DIANA provides dual-use innovators in NATO countries with funding and a fast track to adapt their solutions for defence and security needs. Emerging and disruptive technologies are shaping the world – and the Alliance is adapting to keep pace. Our Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic seeks to unite the best and brightest deep tech innovators in the Alliance to ensure that we are well-prepared to protect our 30 nations and nearly one billion citizens.
About dotOcean
dotOcean provides cloud based control systems for autonomous navigation of vessels/vehicles and advanced situational awareness software for the maritime, civil and security industry. With its unmanned system technology dotOcean enhances operational efficiency, safety and flexibility of vessels and assets at sea by integrating them in a multi agent command and control system.
About Marlinks
Marlinks provides condition-based health monitoring services for submarine power cables. By using fiber optic technology, Marlinks measure the cable’s health status without the need for any additional sensor installations. By continuously crunching data, Marlinks provides end users with real-time actionable insights to drive timely and informed O&M decisions allowing for a predictive maintenance strategy, maximizing energy availability, and resulting in a cost, risk and carbon footprint reduction.
