Standard on every Scout
Whichever configuration you choose, every Scout includes the core sensing kit:
- AIS receive - picks up nearby vessel traffic for situational awareness and autonomous collision avoidance
- Above-surface camera - an onboard optical camera for a live visual read of the vehicle and its surroundings
Optional: an infrared thermal camera adds night vision for low-light and after-dark operations.
Metocean and weather sensors
The Scout Metocean configuration measures the conditions that energy, shipping and coastal programmes need:
- Waves - wave height, period and direction
- Wind - wind speed and direction from an onboard anemometer
- Atmosphere - barometric pressure and air temperature
- Sea surface - sea surface temperature (SST)
Data is delivered in industry-standard formats with quality control, and a live onboard camera gives a visual read of conditions.
Passive acoustics and marine mammal detection
The Scout Hydrotwin configuration adds passive acoustic monitoring (PAM): an integrated hydrophone system with real-time AI detection and classification of vessels and marine mammals. Edge processing delivers instant alerts, with data through a cloud dashboard or API, ideal for environmental impact assessment and protected-area monitoring.
Acoustic communications, detection and subsea data
- Maritime domain awareness - the Scout Detect configuration carries acoustic arrays, a 360° 1080p optical camera and AIS, with a 5 km vessel detection radius
- Acoustic comms and subsea harvesting - the Scout Connect configuration carries an acoustic modem for subsea communications: offloading data from seabed landers and instruments, ranging and tracking AUVs and gliders, and relaying two-way commands, acting as a surface gateway between subsea acoustic networks and satellite
We have integrated acoustic modems and subsea communications from partners including Sonardyne and Subnero.
Bring your own sensor
If your instrument is not on the list, fit it yourself. The Scout Adapt payload bay gives you:
- 24 V regulated power for your onboard sensors
- Ethernet data connection so your instrument is online and reporting in real time
- Bristlemouth-compatible expansion for plug-and-play oceanographic payloads
- Integration support from the Online Oceans team for third-party instruments
Mount sensors above or below the waterline. Teams commonly integrate instruments such as an ADCP (acoustic Doppler current profiler) for current speed and direction through the water column, or a CTD for temperature and conductivity profiles. It is ideal for R&D, university programmes and specialist sensing. New to the terms? See the ocean robotics glossary, or the wider ocean data collection methods.
Own it or task us
Buy a Scout with the payload you need from £40,000, or take it fully managed as data-as-a-service: done-for-you deployments with no upfront cost, and quality-controlled data delivered straight to your own cloud.