401 Tech Bridge to Showcase Cutting-Edge Maritime Technologies at BlueTIDE 2024
Middletown, RI – 401 Tech Bridge, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing innovation, will host the BlueTIDE 2024 demonstration event on August 29, 2024. The event, a collaborative effort involving 401 Tech Bridge, the U.S. Navy, and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC), will provide a platform for testing and evaluating a range of emerging maritime technologies.
The demonstrations will feature six teams from Rhode Island, the United States, and New Zealand. These teams will compete in a series of mission scenarios designed to highlight advancements in areas such as undersea and multidomain communications, digital twin and virtual worlds modeling and simulation, persistent monitoring and sensing, and autonomous and uncrewed systems.
Erik Brine, 401 Tech Bridge Director, emphasized the unique nature of the event. “While the Navy regularly runs exercises, this demonstration event is being executed outside of the Navy fence lines. This means civilian sector investors and markets can see technologies alongside their military counterparts. It’s a more efficient and effective way for Defense organizations to scout emerging technologies.”
Brine added, “BlueTIDE 2024 allows us to showcase technologies that increase our capabilities and lower the cost of commerce and defense on the world’s oceans.” He further noted the potential impact of the innovations, stating, “We’re seeing inventive and interesting things that mean we can put fewer warfighters in danger and protect civilians.”
BlueTIDE 2024 is designed to be a full day highlighting advancements in blue tech. The event will include interactive shoreside exhibits, company presentations, high-tech “command centers,” providing the opportunity to analyze mission data, and speeches from leaders in ocean tech innovation, such as U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, NavalX Deputy Director Scott Bewley, and Marie Bussiere, Technical Director, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Newport.
Brine stated that the event is a showcase for Rhode Island, highlighting its growing blue tech ecosystem and uniquely representing the 401 Tech Bridge mission of fostering innovation, promoting collaboration, and increasing commercialization.
Funding for the event is coming, in part, from the Office of Naval Research through NavalX and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) in partnership with Northeast Tech Bridge. “While the Navy regularly runs exercises, this demonstration event is being executed outside of the Navy fence lines,” Brine reiterated. “This means civilian sector investors and markets can see technologies alongside their military counterparts. It’s a more efficient and effective way for Defense organizations to scout emerging technologies.”
Linda Larsen, 401 Tech Bridge Operations Manager, explained that 401 Tech Bridge’s design for the BlueTIDE 2024 demonstrations lowers the barriers for small businesses to participate while increasing the number of potential customers and partners they meet at one event. “In preparation for this event, companies have started to partner in ways they never imagined – almost every one of the 18 companies is integrating with at least one other participant to execute their mission,” said Larsen.
Brine noted that all the solutions being demonstrated are “dual use technologies,” meaning they have both commercial and defense applications. An example of this is Starboard Maritime Intelligence of New Zealand’s maritime domain awareness platform which combines multiple layers of data to pinpoint the location of boats at sea and identify them, which might include fishing boats, cargo vessels, sailing ships, or potential threats. Maritime safety is an industry seeing projected growth to $47.8 billion by 2029.
“BlueTIDE 2024 allows us to showcase technologies that increase our capabilities and lower the cost of commerce and defense on the world’s oceans,” Brine said.
Data collected will be transmitted to two “command centers” located at Sail Newport via infrastructure provided by event sponsors IBM, AWS and Verizon. Attendees from the Department of Defense, venture capital firms, government agencies, industry partners, and academia will benefit from the demonstrations and presentations.
Due to a variety of considerations, including venue capacity, attendance is limited and requires pre-approval. [Click here](https://whatsupnewp.com/2024/02/401-tech-bridge-to-present-bluetide-2024-demonstration-event-on-august-29-2024/ for a preliminary event schedule).
Participants to Demonstrate Innovations
Eighteen companies from Rhode Island, other parts of the U.S., and as far as New Zealand will form six teams to participate in BlueTIDE 2024. Each team will undertake a Navy-designed mission scenario. Most of the teams will launch from Sail Newport in Fort Adams State Park, with a smaller group deploying from NUWC’s Narragansett Bay Testing Facility. All teams will focus on targeted tasks within one or more of the following four technology areas: undersea and multidomain communications, digital twin and virtual worlds modeling and simulation, persistent monitoring and sensing, and autonomous and uncrewed systems.
A “Showcase Alley” will provide a venue for attendees to interact with these new technologies.
A full list of participants can be found by clicking here
Brine and Larsen highlighted a few companies that were chosen after evaluation from previous demonstration events.
- HavocAI: This Rhode Island-based company, founded by a retired Navy commander, develops unmanned surface vehicles. These vehicles are suitable for low-cost “swarming” applications to aid in defense or for expansive data collection in ocean research or offshore energy operations.
- Enginuity Inc.: This Canadian engineering firm established a Middletown, RI, location to provide advanced engineering services and products, including high-load connectors designed to withstand harsh ocean conditions.
- VATN Systems: This Rhode Island company will show their autonomous underwater vehicle, available in various sizes, enabling its deployment from a boat or helicopter for search and sensing missions.
- Havguard AS: This Norwegian start-up presents a dual-use case with a smart underwater communications solution. Inspired by animal behavior, the technology utilizes AI and reduced frequency bands to minimize disturbance to aquatic life. Havguard AS CEO Emilie Åsberg expressed the company’s enthusiasm in joining BlueTIDE 2024.
“This is a fantastic chance for us to showcase our innovations at the forefront of underwater technology,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “We are so proud to be part of this robust tech ecosystem, and want to extend our utmost appreciation for the work and effort carried out by 401 Tech Bridge and the US Navy in Rhode Island,” Åsberg wrote.
About 401 Tech Bridge
401 Tech Bridge is a non-profit organization that focuses on advancing innovation and commercializing new technologies. It fosters partnerships with industry, academia, and government agencies. The organization provides spaces for collaboration, resources, equipment and funding, and other programing such as tech scouting, tech showcases, experimentation scenarios, and demonstration days to support this innovation ecosystem.
The 401 Tech Bridge is a business unit of The University of Rhode Island Research Foundation and receives support from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP), the Office of Naval Research, the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, The Rhode Island Foundation, and the Van Beuren Charitable Foundation.
Learn more at www.401TechBridge.org.
