 Price$1550* |  Duration21 weeks |  DeliveryOnline with a 1-week in-person session* |  Starts21 July 2025 |
*This microcredential is offered at a discounted amount for a limited number of places with funding support under the Microcredentials Pilot in Higher Education offered by the Commonwealth Department of Education. For more details see: Microcredentials Pilot in Higher Education - Department of Education, Australian Government
*The one-week in-person session will take place during the week of Monday, 1 December, at Beauty Point, Tasmania.
About this course
Discover the future of maritime innovation with this hands-on short course, designed for professionals entering or advancing in Autonomous Maritime Systems (AMS). You'll explore the fundamentals of AUV/ASV operations, mission planning, data analysis, and system safety taught by leading experts in the industry.
Through real-world case studies, interactive simulations, and a final capstone project, you’ll gain practical skills and insights into the technologies driving marine science, defence, offshore energy, and aquaculture.
Build your expertise and be part of a fast-evolving sector shaping the future of ocean exploration.
What you will learn
- Process vehicle and payload data commonly generated by AUVs/ASVs to support vehicle performance analysis and survey interpretation.
- Discuss the interactions between AUV/ASV software, hardware, humans, objectives and the environment by referencing case studies and mission scenarios.
- Assess individual components of autonomous underwater and surface vehicles to understand their current and future capabilities, roles and limitations.
- Design effective AUV/ASV missions considering objectives, payloads and sonar, optical theory and environmental factors.
- Develop AUV/ASV management systems and protocols to enhance safety, maximise capability, and mitigate risk.
- Understand the roles and limitations of maritime autonomous surface vessels, their history and development, and legal aspects.
- Understand positioning, navigation and communication infrastructure on USVs.
- Demonstrate the ability to interpret data commonly generated by ASVs, including visualising and interpreting mission data.
- Understand aspects of safe ASV operation and risk, including cyber security, and trajectories for development of ASVs and MASS (Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships).
Lessons
- History and evolution of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and Autonomous Surface Vessels (ASVs)
- Applications across defence, marine science, offshore energy, and aquaculture
- Legal and regulatory aspects of autonomous maritime operations
- Online lectures and discussion
- Case study: Real-world AUV/ASV missions
- Quiz on key concepts
- Overview of hardware and software components
- Navigation, propulsion, and power systems
- Sensors and payloads (e.g., sonar, cameras, environmental sensors)
- Interactive simulation: Explore an AUV/ASV model
- Group discussion on hardware challenges
- Short written assessment
- Steps in AUV/ASV mission planning (GIS)
- Environmental considerations and risk mitigation
- Communication, navigation, and positioning strategies
- Mission design exercise (students draft a mission plan)
- Case study review: Successes and failures in AUV/ASV missions
- Peer review of mission plans
- Processing and interpreting data from AUV/ASV missions
- Data quality assessment and validation
- Integration of AI and machine learning for autonomous decision-making
- Hands-on data processing tutorial using real-world datasets
- Short project analysing mission data
- Feedback session on data interpretation
- Safety protocols and emergency procedures
- Preventive maintenance and troubleshooting
- Cybersecurity threats in autonomous systems
- Case study analysis: Autonomous system failures & lessons learned
- Guest lecture: Industry expert on cybersecurity risks
- Online quiz on safety & security
- Future trends in autonomous maritime systems
- Industry applications and workforce demands
- Capstone project presentation (students propose a real-world application of an AUV/ASV and propose a realistic mission plan)
- Panel feedback session with industry experts
- Course wrap-up and career pathways discussion
- Final written report or mission plan proposal
- Industry-relevant skills assessment
- Certification upon successful completion
Meet your instructor
Dr. Fischer is a leading expert in oceanography, remote sensing, and the use of autonomous maritime systems in marine environmental research. He has extensive experience in AUV and ASV technology.
Holding a PhD in Geological Sciences from Cornell University, his research focuses on autonomous navigation, sensor integration, and data analytics for marine applications. Dr. Fischer has collaborated with academics and researchers to advance autonomous vehicle operations in oceanographic surveys, environmental monitoring, and maritime security.