Autonomy can take people out of harm’s way, reduce human effort on dull and dirty jobs and act as a force multiplier – making it an undeniably attractive proposition for companies. But for any organisation, the shift towards autonomy is far from straightforward. For a start, the industry ecosystem is complex, while rapid development has left legislative, ethical and policy direction in its wake.
Navigating these complexities requires experience. And here at Thales, autonomy has been playing a major role in our strategies across the land, maritime, air and space sectors for a while now. Using this experience, our aim is to help our users stay ahead of the curve and successfully bring their autonomous offerings to market.
To support our ambitions, we recently set up Thales's Autonomy Technology Centre (ATC). The Centre comprises of a team of specialists who bring together practical learning and experience across many sectors, to help our clients bring their own capabilities to market.
The Centre is not just about helping our clients deliver market-leading autonomous solutions. We also want to get behind the sector and help UK industry set the standards for trusted, safe and ethical autonomous systems in the Digital Age – standards that will be trusted by users and used to advise Government departments on legislation.
Maritime Autonomy
Thales in the UK is committed to being at the forefront of the next great revolution in naval technology. We will ensure that our products and services continue to deliver operational advantage to our customers in line with their requirements and aim to ensure that servicemen, women and platforms remain safe from existing and emerging threats.
Watchkeeper
Thales in the UK’s Watchkeeper is the first operationally proven Unmanned Aircraft System developed and built in the UK, providing real-time, enhanced situational awareness for troops on the ground while helping to reduce risk and loss of life.
Watchkeeper is at the forefront of Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) air systems. Watchkeeper has been awarded Release to Service (RTS) status, following rigorous safety and airworthiness reviews to ensure the system can be operated safely by the British Army.