Kraken announces partnership agreement with Greensea Systems

Kraken Robotics Inc. has announced that it has entered into a Partnership Agreement with Greensea Systems, Inc., creator of OPENSEA, an open architecture robotic platform.

This partnership will expand upon the collaborative efforts already undertaken between the two companies to rapidly advance the capabilities of marine robotics. Under the agreement, Greensea will support development, integration, and testing work with Kraken across several of Kraken’s technology platforms.

The companies have worked together over the last twelve months to utilize the OPENSEA Platform and provide a robust, modular, and extensible software architecture for Kraken’s autonomous underwater vehicles and towed systems.

This Partnership Agreement simplifies contracting between the companies and allows for on-going collaboration for software and hardware technologies. Greensea will support Kraken in maturing on-going programs and accelerating new commercial offerings, including supporting Kraken’s R&D programs under the scope of the OceanVision project.

The companies also intend to work together specifically in the areas of seabed residency and hull inspection and have already demonstrated successful efforts by integrating Kraken sensors into the Greensea OPENSEA Platform and Greensea hardware products, including the newly developed Greensea Hull Crawler system. The first phase of this work was completed in February 2020, with the integration of Kraken’s SeaVision® 3D RGB Underwater Laser Scanner into a prototype of the Greensea Crawler (see photo below). The system was fielded in Florida and demonstrated inspections of a real-world vessel.

Photo: Kraken Robotics Inc.

Karl Kenny, Kraken’s President & CEO stated:

“We originally began working with Greensea in 2018, when we were looking to expand the capabilities of our ThunderFish® AUV platform. Throughout that project, I was very pleased to observe how well our teams worked together, the synergies between culture and capability, and to see the full capabilities of the Greensea software architecture in action. Since then, we have expanded our work together to include the KATFISH system, and integration of our SeaVision laser scanner. This partnership agreement will allow Kraken to engage Greensea in a larger capacity and enables a framework for ongoing collaboration and cooperation.”

Ben Kinnaman, CEO of Greensea, stated:

“The partnership we have signed is very significant. It is a relationship formed between the most disruptive, agile, and aggressive technology developers in the industry. Greensea’s powerful open architecture software platform combined with Kraken’s sensor technology, vehicles, and services will create the next generation of robotics for the subsea industry. The value this partnership creates will drive business for both of our companies.”