The Marine Business Technology Centre (MBTC) launched Smart Sound Plymouth. This is a proving area for designing, testing and developing cutting edge products and services for the advanced marine sector. Smart Sound Plymouth is the first of its kind in the country with a wealth of assets to offer businesses.
Covering more than 1,000km2 of ocean off Plymouth Sound, the proving area’s variety of water depth, sea states and weather conditions is ideal for conducting sea trials, including sub-sea tests with access to offshore water depths of 75m.
Through the MBTC, access to Smart Sound Plymouth is free for eligible businesses and consists of various physical assets to help technological development. These include:
- An unmanned surface vessel operated by the University of Plymouth;
- Fully instrumented data buoys that form part of the Western Channel Observatory operated by Plymouth Marine Laboratory;
- The Continuous Plankton Recorder run by the Marine Biological Association;
- A fleet of support vessels to facilitate trials.
The unveiling of Smart Sound Plymouth represents a hugely significant step in making Plymouth and the surrounding area the UK’s centre for the development, testing and proving of cutting edge marine technologies
stated Councillor Tudor Evans, Leader of Plymouth City Council.
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In addition, Harry Theochari, Chair of Maritime UK, believed that the creation of the Smart Sound facility in Plymouth is a significant step towards creating the cutting-edge test facilities needed by the maritime autonomy community based on the South Coast. The facility will also deliver directly against some of the key technology recommendations within Maritime 2050 and will help ensure maritime success in the UK.
The MBTC has received £2.6 million from the European Regional Development Fund alongside contributions from all the partners, rising the overall investment to £4.5 million.
