Hanwha Group said on the 29th that Pol Lewin, CEO of American artificial intelligence (AI) autonomous navigation solution corporations HevokAI, and its researchers visited Hanwha Ocean's Geoje business sites on the 28th to review capabilities in warship construction and marine systems.
Hanwha demonstrated a technology showcase remotely controlling HevokAI's unmanned surface vehicle (USV), which was standing by off Hawaii, from Geoje.
Hanwha said the visit served as an opportunity for both sides to verify their technologies ahead of strategic cooperation on autonomous navigation and remote operation technologies for unmanned marine systems by Hanwha and HevokAI.
Hanwha Systems and Hanwha Ocean, which handle Hanwha's naval defense business, opened the door to entering the United States last year by acquiring a shipyard in the Philippines.
Looking ahead, Hanwha said it expects to combine Hanwha Ocean's warship construction capabilities with Hanwha Systems' systems integration strengths—such as the combat management system (CMS), the engineered control system (ECS), and the condition-based monitoring system (CBMS) for propulsion—and HevokAI's autonomous navigation software to produce real-world products and solutions.
Yu Mun-gi, head of the marine division at Hanwha Systems, said, "Hanwha Systems will do its best, based on our combat management systems, marine platform integration capabilities, and group affiliate synergies, to make visible progress toward entering the global unmanned marine systems market, including the United States, together with HevokAI."
CEO Pol Lewin said, "By combining Hanwha Group's marine systems expertise and warship construction capabilities with HevokAI's autonomous navigation capabilities, we can both expand the utility of existing vessels and enable rapid deployment of new unmanned systems."