X-craft marks the spot
Words Luke Williamson
It may surprise people to know that Leigh is at the forefront of technology when it comes to robotics and Artificial Intelligence, thanks to local resident, Philip Solaris.
Philip Solaris is the CEO of X-craft Enterprises, a robotics company based in Leigh. “I tell people we’re problem solvers… it just happens that we use robotic craft to solve those problems.”
X-craft specialises in uncrewed aerial and sea craft. Philip offers examples as the best way to describe their work. “Niue has a problem around illegal fishing; they asked us what technology would enable them to protect their coastal marine environment – 12-nautical-mile zone, and the larger Exclusive Economic Zone [EEZ – 200 nautical miles]. We ran a series of coastal technology demonstrations using uncrewed multi-rotor and fixed-wing aerial craft, and then trained local people to operate those drones longterm.
We have proposed using uncrewed sea vessels for large area operations in Niue, and throughout the Pacific, but these are currently only operating in New Zealand.”
The aerial craft in X-craft’s portfolio are also involved in predator-control projects in New Zealand. “We have an accurate air deployment system that can drop something from about 60 metres and land it within a metre of a target. It can be used for baits, remote sensors, reforestation and even emergency response. It's a highly accurate and adaptable system.”
Philip explains that robotics is ideally suited to small nations that don't have a lot of money. “Take the Hauraki Gulf as an example; I could put two-dozen boats out there and protect and patrol the Gulf 24/7 at a fraction of the price of a standard patrol boat. From there, you can scale it up to tackle the problem of patrolling New Zealand’s EEZ, which is huge!”
The multi-purpose capabilities of these craft is another important point Philip wants to emphasise. “These systems can be utilised for humanitarian and environmental purposes – emergency response, life-saving, data collection, environmental monitoring, gathering information on the state of our seas, and military defence.”
An exciting area of progress for Philip is in Artificial Intelligence (AI). “The weak point in robotic systems is their communication. The solution to communication failure is to develop internal capability for the robot to make decisions under certain parameters and conditions, and that gives us much greater flexibility and reliability.” Philip refers back to uncrewed sea craft monitoring fishing zones, ‘Those boats can also carry out emergency response. However, if they're in a storm and lose connectivity, we still want them to be able to go to an area, identify people or objects in the water, and assist those people. It could mean the difference between life and death.”
The risks of AI is a subject Philip takes extremely seriously. “AI is very dangerous when used for the wrong applications. However, it offers amazing potential in the area I work in – trying to help the planet, and focussing on environmental and humanitarian operations. AI is going to alter everything and it’s quite scary...and quite beautiful.”
The core team of X-craft is about five people, but it expands to up to 16 as work volume dictates. “Our company was very decentralised, but we're in the process of building a new workshop near Leigh, which sort of centralises everybody again,” says Philip. “We need to allow for some manufacturing of our solutions.”
Looking ahead, Philip is very excited about an upcoming submersible project. “It will be a robot that is very difficult to distinguish from a life form and a system that is extremely autonomous. There’s never been anything like it. We’ll be able to observe what’s going on in the ocean without any disturbance to marine life whatsoever. I think we’ll get data we’ve never seen before. We also want to deploy it in Antarctica because this system will overcome many of the mechanical problems encountered in that extreme environment. My hopes are very high for this project.”