A Conversation with Chris Weeks from Saab, Inc. Autonomous and Undersea Systems

UTIC Intersections–Conversations with Ocean and Undersea Tech Leaders: Conversations with influential leaders in the undersea technology community, soliciting their industry input, guidance and mentorship.

After earning his engineering degree from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Chris launched a successful maritime business in upstate New York, combining his technical expertise with an entrepreneurial spirit. He leveraged that technical know-how to then transition into marine robotics, spending 15 years leading programs at two of the industry’s foremost innovators in undersea systems and AUV technology: Bluefin Robotics and Ultra Maritime. Today, Chris serves as Director of Autonomous and Undersea Systems Programs at Saab, Inc. 

We asked Chris for his thoughts on some important undersea technology questions:

From the perspective of a technical leader, what unmanned and/autonomous undersea tech innovations are game changers today?

When discussing innovations in this space, it is important to remember two big differences between unmanned underwater systems and other unmanned systems: unmanned underwater systems operate without high-bandwidth comms and without GPS navigation.  With that context in mind, I continue to be impressed how undersea technology companies are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to both improve onboard navigation algorithms and enable the use of lower cost sensors to achieve acceptable and independent subsea navigation accuracy. This is particularly relevant and impressive for tech solutions that are intended to be higher volume, lower unit cost products.

Thinking along the lines of lower cost approaches, I also see leaders in the undersea tech embracing innovations in Additive Manufacturing (AM) to enable rapid prototyping for undersea vehicles and systems.  3D printing and similar prototyping tools can lead to significant cost savings in the manufacturing of undersea systems and products.

Looking ahead, what tech innovations do you see as tomorrow’s game changers for UUVs and UAVs?

For future implementations, I see undersea technology companies testing and using AI to enable vehicles to solve more of their own problems while underway executing their missions. Historically, if unmanned undersea vehicles were in trouble they would come to the surface and essentially call for help using higher bandwidth comms, or communicating with a nearby ship, if available.  Now, the decisioning power of AI can help vehicles think through and solve their problems on their own, enabling longer, more covert missions.

As a technical leader, what industry resources do you use when you want to keep current on blue tech research, technology, and commercialization?

I get a lot of value from attending and participating in blue tech industry events, like UTIC’s Industry Days and related partner events including the Defense Innovation Forum and the Blue Innovation Symposium.

I also get engaged with other important national defense and innovation events tied to marine and blue tech, including the SNA’s National Symposium, Sea Air Space, the NDIA Undersea Warfare Fall Conference and SENEDIA’s virtual and live events including Defense Innovation Days.

When not at events, I engage with my undersea tech peers and partners on LinkedIn which helps me stay current.