Ocean Power Technologies Automates Offshore Charging & Docking for ASV Platform

Ocean Power Technologies has successfully demonstrated the autonomous docking, charging, and redeployment of its WAM-V Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV).

This technical milestone addresses a primary constraint in offshore autonomy by allowing a maritime drone to approach a dock, secure itself, and recharge before returning to its mission without any human assistance. The company is currently advancing this capability for integration with its PowerBuoy platform. This development is intended to create offshore charging points that facilitate continuous operations at sea.

The long-term strategy for these systems involves the creation of a distributed marine charging network. Such a network would be capable of supporting both proprietary and third-party maritime drones, as well as electric boats, across various offshore locations.

Philipp Stratmann, Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Power Technologies, said, “Extending time on station while reducing the need for manned support is critical to scaling offshore autonomy. Docking and charging is an integral step forward in making these systems practical and cost-effective for customers.”

In addition to docking milestones, the company is developing a next-generation system architecture program for the WAM-V platform. This upgrade focuses on maritime resilience, improving system compatibility, and simplifying the process of hardware updates. The new architecture is designed to enable increased endurance and provide support for a wider array of customer-specific payloads.

By combining these hardware improvements with ongoing advances in autonomy software, the company aims to provide integrated solutions for persistent offshore operations. These capabilities are targeted at both defense and commercial markets where long-duration maritime data and service solutions are required.