USVA project enters pilot phase in summer 2026
The USVA project developing autonomous surface vessels will move into its pilot phase during summer 2026 in the Finnish Archipelago Sea. The pilot will test autonomous vessel navigation in a real operational environment, powered by Exertus MIC-series vehicle computers as the onboard computing platform.
The USVA project (Uncrewed Surface Vessels for Automated Critical Infrastructure Protection) develops new maritime surveillance solutions based on autonomous, unmanned surface vessels. The objective is to improve the ability of authorities and critical infrastructure operators to build a real-time situational picture and respond rapidly to anomalies and incidents.
Atostek is responsible for the autonomous vessel software and system integration within the project. Using its Flexbot software framework, the company has built a pilot-ready autonomy software stack for unmanned surface vessels in less than a year.
During spring 2026, the project evaluated suitable computing platforms for the pilot phase, ultimately selecting Exertus MIC-series hardware. The platform is designed for demanding mobile and marine environments where reliability, flexibility and long-term durability are critical requirements.
“It has been exceptional to witness the speed and capability of Atostek’s software development. The cooperation has strongly reflected our Freedom to Create – Together mindset: development has progressed openly, flexibly and through close technical collaboration. Atostek is not only building autonomy software running on Exertus hardware, but is also extending system-level functionality. We have likewise benefited from new platform capabilities developed during the project,” says Arttu Pulli, Chief Technology Officer at Exertus.
“Exertus has been extremely flexible to work with, and the adaptability of the platform has been first-class. Their hardware is highly reliable and performs well in challenging environments. The software side has not been unnecessarily restricted, which has made development work significantly smoother,” says Juhana Helovuo, Chief Research Officer at Atostek.
The project will continue into 2027, focusing on improving autonomous decision-making capabilities, traffic awareness and compliance with maritime navigation and collision avoidance rules.
Exertus Oy is a Finnish technology and software company founded in 2003. The company designs and delivers advanced control systems for mobile machinery, vehicles and marine applications. Exertus develops intelligent and reliable solutions for machine control, automation, user interfaces, remote management and data systems. Headquartered in Seinäjoki, Finland, the company serves customers internationally as part of a global technology network.
Atostek provides multidisciplinary software engineering and information systems expertise. Its key application areas include healthcare and medical technology, industrial product development and public sector IT consulting. The company employs more than one hundred professionals across its offices in Tampere, Espoo and Jyväskylä, Finland.
The image was generated using the Google Nano Banana Pro model and does not depict a real vessel or real-world environment.