Seicor International 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 the tests aboard Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center’s (NFESC) Motor Vessel (M/V) Independence, just offshore, near Port Hueneme, Calif.

Testing aboard the M/V Independence included moving 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.

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 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.

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, and demobilization. RTI developed and tested the control software and performed the system integration. D&K Engineering provided the winches and drive systems.

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