AutoNaut

A Chichester company that builds uncrewed boats pushed along by the motion of the waves, used for ocean science, offshore surveys and monitoring.

About AutoNaut

AutoNaut builds uncrewed boats that are powered mainly by the sea itself. The hull has foils under the water that turn the up and down motion of the waves into forward movement, so the boat can travel silently with very little energy. A small electric motor helps in calm weather or against strong tides. The hull is shallow, draws less than half a metre and is designed to right itself if it capsizes. In the 3.5 metre version the speeds are roughly 2 to 3 knots, and in the 5 metre version 3 to 4 knots. Because it makes so little noise, the boat is good for listening to the sea and gathering data without disturbing wildlife.

The idea behind the boat goes back to 1895, when Herman Linden built an early vessel with a similar wave-powered system. Company director Mike Poole took the idea up again in the 1980s and spent about 30 years testing it, including in a 25 metre wave tank in his Devon garden. In 2012 a retired Royal Navy commodore, David Maclean, helped turn it into a production boat at the company then called MOST (Marine One Stop Technologies). By 2015 four AutoNauts had been built. We did not find a mission statement, so we have not made one up.

The company is based in Chichester, West Sussex, where its waterside office handles research and development, project management and building the vessels; sea trials were piloted from there too. Customers named in the 2015 article include the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton and Texas A&M University, and the uses listed include collecting ocean data, monitoring oil and gas sites and offshore wind construction, listening for marine mammals and low-profile security surveillance. An undated directory entry lists it as a company within the Seiche group, which suggests a change of ownership that we have not been able to confirm.

The sources say little about people and culture beyond naming Mike Poole, David Maclean and the naval architect Dan Alldis. The history shows a company that grew from one enthusiast's long experiment, which usually means a practical, hands-on way of working, though that is our reading rather than a published claim.

Roles in a small boat-building technology company include naval architects, marine and electrical engineers, boat builders, software and communications engineers, remote pilots who run trials from shore, ocean scientists who plan data collection, and project managers and sales staff. Interest in the sea, engineering, physics and computing are all good starting points. Check the AutoNaut website for current vacancies.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Uncrewed vessels that move using wave energy, with a small electric motor as backup.', 'title': 'Wave-propelled boats'}
• {'desc': 'Boats carrying sensors for currents, water properties and weather.', 'title': 'Ocean data collection'}
• {'desc': 'Silent platforms for listening to marine mammals and tracking noise.', 'title': 'Quiet monitoring'}

Key facts

• Based in Chichester, West Sussex; waterside office for design, project management and builds
• Idea dates to 1895; Mike Poole spent about 30 years developing it, from the 1980s
• Four AutoNauts built by 2015; customers included the National Oceanography Centre and Texas A&M University
• Listed in a directory as part of the Seiche group (ownership change not confirmed)

Website: www.autonautusv.com