Veteran-owned Seiler International Corp. (SEICOR) and Real-Time Innovations Inc. (RTI) have announced the successful at-sea testing of the Navy's quarter-scale Automated Logistics (AutoLog) cargo handling system. A government-contractor team performed testing aboard Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center's (NFESC) Motor Vessel (M/V) Independence, just offshore Port Hueneme, Calif.

The AutoLog system is being developed under a Phase III Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract awarded to SEICOR, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research. The AutoLog system is designed to move cargo (nominally 20-foot ISO containers, weighing as much as 53,000 pounds) from one ship platform to another in heavy seas. The recent test was to demonstrate the ability of a quarter-scale system to successfully operate in a high-sea-state environment.

NFESC designed and fabricated the major structural components and supported test events on land and aboard the M/V Independence, including mobilization, installation of the system, power requirements, cabling, test performance and demobilization. Under subcontract to SEICOR, RTI developed and tested the control software and performed all system integration. D&K Engineering provided the winches and drive systems.

Rick Gardner, the NFESC's AutoLog program director, commented, “At-sea testing aboard the M/V Independence included the movement of a quarter-scale ISO container from a fixed location on the ship to a target area on a lighter alongside the ship. Numerous tests were performed with most landings within one foot of the target area despite the amplified heave, yaw and other unconstrained motions in high-sea-state conditions.”

For more information, visit www.seicor.com or www.rti.com.