autonomous-vessels
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Michael G. Johnson and the art of letting go of the wheel
A salvage engineer helped plan the recovery of the Costa Concordia, then founded Sea Machines Robotics. His next project asks how much of a vessel’s daily work can move from a person’s hands to a machine.
The Navy Wanted Thousands of Robot Boats. HavocAI Built the Brain That Lets One Person Run the Fleet
Two Navy veterans started with Python, borrowed-looking boats and a blunt thesis: the hull is replaceable; coordination is the product. Two years, dozens of military deliveries and roughly $196 million later, HavocAI is testing whether one software stack can turn sea, air and land robots into a useful team.
Sea Machines Robotics
Sea Machines Robotics is a Boston-based company building autonomous command, control, and perception systems for commercial and defense vessels. Its products - including the SM300 autonomous control system, the SM200 wireless remote helm, and the AI-Ris computer-vision sensor - let workboats, tugs, survey craft, and unmanned surface vehicles operate remotely or autonomously while improving safety and crew productivity. Founded in 2015 by marine engineer Michael G. Johnson, the company has deployed systems on four continents and works with customers spanning shipping, spill response, government, and the military.
Michael G. Johnson
Michael G. Johnson is the founder, president and CTO of Sea Machines Robotics, a Boston company building autonomous control and perception systems for commercial ships and workboats. A Texas A&M marine engineer who spent two decades in offshore oil, heavy-lift ocean transport and salvage at Crowley and TITAN Salvage, Johnson started Sea Machines in 2015 after seeing how avoidable human error was on an Arctic oil-spill response job. In November 2024 he handed the CEO seat to David 'Chip' Wasson and moved into a technology and product role focused on defense and international expansion.