According to ^[1] Unmanned surface vessels (USVs) have also been called autonomous surface craft (ASC). As the name implies they remove the operators from the platform and allow new modes of operations. As global positioning systems have become more compact, effective, and affordable unmanned surface vehicles have become more capable. Affordable, long-range, and higher bandwidth wireless data systems have also been key to the rapid growth of USVs for many applications. Today USVs are widely used in military applications as well as scientific applications. Currently, all of the leading “sea nations” like Norway, the US, Great Britain, and others are working on their solutions for autonomous ships – water drones. A good example is the well-known Norwegian multi-sector company Kongsberg (https://www.kongsberg.com/maritime/support/themes/autonomous-shipping/#), which heavily invests in the development of digital solutions and autonomous vessel solutions. In the same way, as with ground and aerial unmanned systems, the main advantages of using unmanned systems on waters are reduction of the total cost of ownership, increased safety, and higher flexibility of applications. The flexibility is exposed both through existing products and application potential in different fields including military, commercial, and different civil applications.

One of the first application domains is mine sweeping and mine laying use cases, which has been developed during the Second World War ^[2]. Currently, border monitoring, surveillance, and security applications in the military domain are widely used as well. A nice example of security USV is the Protector system (A Republic of Singapore Navy Protector Unmanned Surface Vehicle on display at the National Museum of Singapore as part of an exhibition called Because You Played A Part: Total Defence 30: An Experiential Showcase from 15 February 2014 to 23 February 2014, commemorating the 30th anniversary of Total Defence in Singapore).

Another good example of small size multi-purpose USV is Maritime Robotics (https://www.maritimerobotics.com/) Otter system (https://www.maritimerobotics.com/press?pgid=k8qc87da-0c15f7fe-07ab-4614-9ae7-26dfac6cce5a):

In the same fashion as with UGVs, those systems are mostly remotely controlled due to security reasons and maritime domain regulations.

Commercial applications seem to be with the most social impact in the future since commercial systems might replace short- and long-range liners and ferries reducing total costs of ownership and increasing the overall safety on commercial waters. Again, among the main contributors might be Norwegian multi-sector company Kongsberg and various developer teams around the World. Currently, only very few test vessels are commissioned but there is a significant buzz around announcements made b the developers. Currently, the main challenges are related to safety and special operations automation, which are required in ports according to the acting regulations.