Podcast 11 - Exail's DriX - a French approach to marine autonomous survey

For episode 11 of the Seabed 2030 podcast, head of partnerships Steve Hall interviews David Vincentelli of French manufacturer Exail - a high-tech industrial group specialising in cutting-edge robotics, maritime, navigation, aerospace and photonics technologies. With a first-rate reputation for their innovative products, Exail now manufacturer a well-regarded marine autonomous survey platform, the DriX vehicle, available in a variety of sizes and specifications.
Able to survey at 8 knots and with the latest version capable of full trans-ocean range, DriX is another excellent example of how new robotic technologies are helping Seabed 2030's data acquisition partners map the global ocean.
In this interview David describes his career to date, Exail's background in intertial navigation systems, and the development and progress of the DriX range of vehicles. Exail are shortly due to sign a MoU with Seabed 2030 and several of their customers are already key suppliers of seabed data.
David also touches on other aspects of Exail's product range such as quantum gravimeters which help us to map areas that have yet to be surveyed by echo sounder systems.
Any questions for David he can be contacted here.
We'll be back in August for podcast 12. Any questions or feedback please contact Steve Hall. Find out more about Seabed 2030 at www.seabed2030.org
Addition narration and music by Emily Boddy. 

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO

Chapters

• 0:00 Start
• 0:50 Welcome & intro
• 1:34 Introducing David Vincentelli of Exail & their product range
• 9:03 The DriX marine autonomous survey vessel
• 14:15 Describing the different versions of DriX
• 17:49 The hydrographic survey equipment fit
• 20:06 How autonomous is DriX? 'Supervised Autonomy'.
• 23:56 Is DriX a product you can buy, or only lease?
• 26:03 24/7 working from the other side of the world
• 27:17 How vehicles like DriX benefit Seabed 2030 & GEBCO
• 31:12 Any new developments on the way? Welcoming Exail as a Seabed 2030 Partner.
• 34:12 Quantum Gravimeters as survey tools
• 37:45 How big is Exail?
• 38:29 Thanking David for his interview
• 39:50 Closing comments and credits