AutoSea
Complete automation and operator systems for maritime and offshore work
Automation Built Around the Operation
AutoSea provides building blocks for data acquisition, alarms, logging, control logic, and operator screens, delivered with the control hardware, panels, I/O, protocol integration, installation, and commissioning needed for a working system.
- Fixed-period scan-cycle runtime with bounded latency
- HMI builder with vector graphics and real-time process displays
- Industrial and maritime protocol layer
- Configurable alarm and event management
- Alarm history, replay, and audit trail via the platform historian
- Integrates with TwinSea and SimSea (virtual commissioning and HIL) and MetroSea (metrology feeds)
System Building Blocks
AutoSea components can be used independently or combined with hardware, panels, and field integration into a larger monitoring and control system.
AutoSea Runtime
The core execution engine. Handles fixed-period scan-cycle execution, I/O polling, process variable management, alarm evaluation, and inter-module communication. Safety-rated functions stay in certified safety controllers, which the runtime supervises.
I/O Modules
Hardware-abstracted I/O drivers covering digital I/O, analogue I/O, serial and network interfaces. New hardware drivers can be added without modifying application logic.
HMI Builder
A vector-graphics HMI development environment for building operator screens with real-time process graphics, trend displays, alarm views, and navigation structures. Screens run in-browser or as a native application.
Protocol Layer
Uses the platform's shared communication adapters for Modbus (TCP/RTU), OPC UA, NMEA 0183/2000, IEC 61162, AIS, MQTT, CAN (CANopen, J1939), Siemens S7, EtherCAT, and Ethernet/IP. Protocol-specific parsing and engineering unit conversion are handled at the layer boundary.
Deployment Toolset
Configuration management, version control, and deployment tooling. Includes remote update mechanisms, health monitoring, log management, and backup/restore.
Allen-Bradley PLC Engineering Toolchain
Programmatic read/write access to full Rockwell Allen-Bradley controller project files, not just isolated exports: controllers, tasks, programs, routines and rungs, tags and user-defined types, and I/O module configuration, generated and kept in sync with AutoSea’s own data model. Add-On Instructions are one output among several. Includes software-in-the-loop validation against a simulated controller and live tag read/write against a running PLC, cutting rework on CompactLogix and ControlLogix commissioning.
Protocol and Integration Support
AutoSea uses the platform protocol layer, which covers the industrial and maritime communication standards most common across the offshore sector.
Industrial Protocols
Maritime Protocols
MimeSeas Platform Integration
AutoSea systems can be connected to TwinSea digital twins for control logic validation before site deployment. Changes to AutoSea control sequences can be regression-tested against the TwinSea model without live equipment.
AutoSea receives live metrology data from MetroSea sensors, feeding positioning and alignment data directly into the automation logic. Used in pipelay tensioner control, offshore installation alignment, and structural load monitoring.
SimSea generates virtual I/O signals that drive AutoSea as if connected to real field instrumentation. Enables operator training scenarios where the SCADA/HMI system responds to simulated vessel and equipment behaviour.
Application Domains
Dredging Automation
Automation and monitoring for TSHD and CSD dredging operations. AutoSea is designed to interface with dredge pump drives, cutter head drives, spud control, drag arm positioning, overflow systems, and dredge production monitoring.
Vessel and Platform Systems
Vessel monitoring and control for AHTS, PSV, pipe-lay vessels, cable-lay vessels, and platform topsides. Covers DP system interfacing, ballast and tank management, power management, and auxiliary systems automation.
Pipelay and Offshore Installation
Tension control, stinger angle monitoring, J-lay and S-lay operation automation. Pipelay tensioner control, departure angle management, and integrated metrology feed from MetroSea.
Shore-Side and Remote Operations
Shore-based control rooms, remote monitoring of offshore assets, and fleet data aggregation. AutoSea supports both local and cloud-hosted deployment models.
How Remote Operation Works Safely
Remote monitoring and remote operation are different problems, and we treat them that way. Watching an asset from shore is a data question. Operating one is a safety question, so AutoSea applies specific rules to it.
The control loop never crosses the link
The fixed-period runtime stays on the vessel. Shore issues setpoints, mode changes, and sequence starts; the local runtime executes them and keeps ownership of timing and interlocks, while safety-rated trips stay in certified hardware on board. Network latency therefore cannot delay a trip.
Losing the link is designed behaviour, not a fault
Heartbeats run in both directions with a defined timeout per operation class. On timeout the vessel enters a safe state chosen for that equipment type, such as holding position, stopping payout, or parking. Commands carry an expiry, so a delayed packet cannot execute against a situation that has already moved on.
One party holds command at a time
Command authority is explicit and singular, either shore or bridge. Handover is a request-and-accept transaction, both ends display the current holder, and the vessel always wins a contested claim.
Operating a vessel from shore is a regulated activity that engages class society rules and ongoing IMO work on autonomous shipping. We confirm the applicable framework with you as part of scoping a remote-operations engagement, because it drives certification effort well beyond the software itself.
Service Models
End-to-End Delivery
End-to-end AutoSea system delivery: requirements capture, system design, hardware specification, software development, factory acceptance testing, site installation, and commissioning.
Software Licensing
AutoSea platform licensed to your engineering team for in-house development of monitoring and control applications. Includes developer training, technical support, and optional reference hardware/I/O packages.
System Migration
Migration from legacy SCADA and HMI platforms to AutoSea. We handle data model translation, HMI redesign, historian migration, and parallel running periods to ensure continuity.
Managed Service
MimeSeas operates and maintains your AutoSea system under a managed service agreement, covering software updates, hardware maintenance, and support at agreed service levels.