The government of Canada has awarded Kraken Robotic Systems Inc. a $1 million contract for the company’s ThunderFish 300 autonomous underwater vehicle.

Kraken’s ThunderFish 300 AUV, which was initially pre-qualified in April 2018 under the Canadian government’s Build in Canada Innovation Program, is expected to be delivered to Kraken's test partner, Defense Research and Development Canada, in Halifax in the second quarter of 2019. 

“We are very pleased to be contracted to deliver our ThunderFish AUV to DRDC. This represents a pre-commercial R&D sale of ThunderFish,” explains Karl Kenny, Kraken’s president and CEO. “We are continuing development of the ThunderFish AUV platform to bring additional features to the market including the integration of our Multispectral SAS and 3D laser scanner sensors.”

Described as an “innovative marine robot designed for ultra high-resolution seabed imaging and mapping applications,” the ThunderFish AUV can be used for a variety of oceanographic and military tasks including underwater surveys, environmental monitoring, and searching for downed aircraft and naval mine countermeasures.

Capable of carrying a number of sensors and custom payload modules, including Kraken’s AquaPix Synthetic Aperture Sonar, the ThunderFish AUV can be configured to operate at depths up to 6,000 meters.

According to Kraken, the AUV is ideal for monitoring or surveillance tasks where cost efficiency, ease of deployment and operational simplicity matters.

The AUV's modular design also allows for rapid sensor reconfiguration and battery replacement.