Buffalo Automation

Buffalo Automation Group, Inc

Type| Private
Industry| Artificial Intelligence

Applied Machine Learning
Autonomous robot
Boating
Guidance, navigation, and control
Maritime transport

Unmanned surface vehicle
Founded| 2015
Founders| Thiru Vikram

Alexander Zhitelzeyf

Emilie Reynolds[1]
Headquarters|

Buffalo, New York

United States

Area served

| Worldwide
Products| AutoMate
Bifrost
The Mayday (formerly Greycraft)
Website| https://www.buffautomation.com/

Buffalo Automation is an artificial intelligence (AI) startup that develops autonomous navigation technology for commercial ships, recreational boats, and water taxis with the goal to improve maritime safety.[2][3][4] It is a private company based in Buffalo, New York.[5][6] Thiru Vikram is the CEO of the company.[7]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 1.1 AutoMate
* 1.2 The Mayday
* 1.3 Greycraft
* 1.4 Bifrost
* 2 Funding
* 3 Awards and recognition
* 4 See also
* 5 References

## History

Buffalo Automation was founded by Thiru Vikram, Alexander Zhitelzeyf and Emilie Reynolds, who were engineering students at the University at Buffalo.[3][8] Originating as a university research project, the concept was transformed into a company in 2015.[9]

### AutoMate

The team developed AutoMate, a predictive system[10] which uses artificial intelligence technology and neural networks to coordinate and integrate data, decisions, and actions based on nautical maps, cameras, sensors, thermal imaging, broadband radars, GPS, LiDAR[11] and Automatic Identification System (AIS).[12][13] The system allows autonomous identification and safe navigation around stationary objects,[4] swimmers, and other vessels within the surrounding 24 nautical miles (28 mi).[5][9][14] Initially developed as a fleet management and autopilot solution for the commercial shipping industry, the technology has since been adapted for use with recreational boats, including yachts and motorboats.[15] Initial tests were performed in 2015, using a 16-foot (4.9 m)-long catamaran equipped with the AutoMate system.[16]

In addition to hazard identification and avoidance, the AutoMate system also employs neural networks to recognize navigation signs, help vessels maneuver in compliance with International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS), and interpret weather conditions.[6][17][18] The technology helps in fuel efficiency, which was tested in 2018 on vessels in the Great Lakes.[19][20]

In early 2018, Buffalo Automation began tests of a 22-foot (6.7 m)-long autonomous pleasure boat made by Sea Ray, a boat manufacturer owned by the Brunswick Boat Group.[21][22][23] Also in 2018, Buffalo Automation expanded its sales focus to Europe.[24] Fully autonomous navigation of locks was in development as of 2020.[25]

### The Mayday

In 2020, Buffalo Automation introduced The Mayday (originally named Greycraft),[26] a free app. Designed to encourage people to experiment with and experience artificial intelligence technology that is otherwise not readily accessible to the average person,[27] The Mayday operates as a self-contained offline neural network capable of detecting boats, ships, and other vessels visible to a cell phone camera.[27] The Mayday app is also used to hail Buffalo Automation's Greycraft self-driving water taxis.[28][29]

### Greycraft

In 2021, Buffalo Automation unveiled a self-driving water taxi, Greycraft.[28] Fully autonomous, Greycraft uses cameras, laser scanners, radar, satellite, GPS, compass information, and artificial intelligence (AI) to evaluate the surroundings and guide itself.[28] The autonomous solar and electric-powered water taxi was first demonstrated to Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon on January 7, 2021.[30] As part of the region's green urbanism efforts, as of 2021 Greycraft is pending government approval to allow public use as a water taxi or passenger ferry in East Tennessee.[31] Upon approval, patrons would access the water taxi service using Buffalo Automation's Mayday ride-hailing app.[29]

The on-board solar panels and battery used to power Greycraft's engine and AI (artificial intelligence) navigation system have a capacity of six hours and enable speeds up to 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph).[29] Greycraft's quiet engine and solar-charging system provide a sustainable transport alternative, minimize marine acoustic disruption, and avoid environmental impacts associated with fuel and oil residue leaked in aquatic environments.[29]

Trials of the United Kingdom first robot water taxis, watercraft equipped with Buffalo Automation's AutoMate autonomous navigation system, were scheduled for summer 2020 in Plymouth (UK) but postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[2][32]

In July 2021, a Greycraft ferry began service in the Netherlands' Kagerplassen lake district, "Europe's first commercial robotaxi service".[33] Subsidized by funding from the South Holland provincial government, the self-propelled Vaar met Ferry service connects pedestrian and bicyclists from Warmond-Kagerzoom and Leiderdorp to the Koudenhoorn Recreation Area.[34][35][36] The ferry service was implemented in collaboration with the Delft University of Technology, Future Mobility Network, Buffalo Automation, and the South Holland provincial government in order to provide a sustainable transport option and reduce crowding on the existing access bridge as COVID restrictions have increased recreation area usage.[37][38] Passengers use Buffalo Automation's Mayday ridesharing app to hail the robotaxi.[38]

### Bifrost

In 2020, Buffalo Automation redeveloped its thermal imaging software to enable rapid skin temperature scanning of multiple people in a crowd for the purpose of detecting fever.[39] This adaptation was initiated in response to a health care and public health sector unmet need created by the COVID-19 pandemic.[39] Named Bifrost, the system operates as a Software as a service (SaaS) solution, where Buffalo Automation's convolutional neural network is combined with existing thermal imaging equipment in order to rapidly report the skin temperature of different facial regions of each individual in a crowd.[40][41] The Bifrost Project was piloted at the entry to the University at Buffalo Neurosurgery Center of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.[42]

## Funding

Grants from SUNY and New York State business plan competition prizes helped bootstrap early activity.[7]

In 2016, Buffalo Automation secured its first private placement, US$25,000 in pre-seed investments from Launch NY and Z80 Labs. In 2018, it raised a total of $900,000 in a seed funding round led by the Jacobs family office, with Z80 making a US$100,000 follow-on investment.[3][7]

In 2020, the company raised US$650,000 through two rounds of convertible note issuance. In the second, the University at Buffalo's Innovation Seed Fund made its inaugural venture capital investment, investing US$250,000 in Buffalo Automation.[43][25] Varia Consulting Group subsequently matched that US$250,000 investment.[25]

## Awards and recognition

* In 2015, Buffalo Automation won the inaugural Buffalo Student Sandbox, an accelerator program.[44]
* In 2016, it won the University at Buffalo's Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition.[45][1] The same year, the company was nominated as a finalist for the Innovation Award by Lloyd's List,[46] and won the New York Business Plan Competition, under the Information Technology/Software category.[17][45]
* In 2018, Buffalo Automation was a semifinalist in 43 North, a startup pitch competition.[47]
* In 2019, Buffalo Automation's flagship product, the AutoMate won the second annual XCELLENCE Awards by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) for Detect & Avoid Solutions. NASA's ICAROUS placed second and Auterion's PX4 Avoidance was awarded third place.[48]

## See also

* MV Yara Birkeland
* Piranha Unmanned Surface Vessel
* Roboat
* Scout (autonomous boat)
* Sea Hunter
* Thermography
* Non-contact thermography

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Thiru Vikram-led Startup Wins University at Buffalo Entrepreneur Competition" (in en). India West. June 24, 2016. https://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/thiru-vikram-led-startup-wins-university-of-buffalo-entrepreneur-competition/article_44a2f840-39a0-11e6-84cc-db23397076fd.html.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Telford, William (16 Apr 2020). "Robot water taxis to be trialled by US tech giants in Plymouth". Plymouth Live. https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/robot-water-taxis-trialled-tech-4049999.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Caya, Chris. "Are self-navigating boats on the horizon?" (in en). NPR (Buffalo). http://news.wbfo.org/post/are-self-navigating-boats-horizon.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "AI Startup Receives $900k for Self-Driving Boats". Great Lakes Boating. 1 Apr 2018. https://www.greatlakesboating.com/2018/04/ai-startup-receives-900k-for.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bazan, Josh (2018-04-11). "Buffalo company leading the way in self-driving boat technology" (in en-US). https://www.wkbw.com/news/buffalo-company-leading-the-way-in-self-driving-boat-technology.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Automating Boat Travel with Buffalo Automation | Techweek" (in en-US). Techweek. 2018-05-09. https://techweek.com/buffalo-automation-ai-startup-boat/.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Stewart, Jack (May 28, 2018). "Forget Robo-Cars and Hit the Water on an Autonomous Boat". Wired (magazine). https://www.wired.com/story/self-driving-ships-boats/.
8. ↑ "Launch NY, Z80 back self-piloting ship startup". https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2016/12/19/launch-ny-z80-back-self-piloting-ship-startup.html.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Dhakappa, Bhargav (May 9, 2018). "Automating Boat Travel with Buffalo Automation". TechWeek (magazine). https://techweek.com/buffalo-automation-ai-startup-boat/.
10. ↑ Nealon, Cory (October 7, 2015). "A yacht that pilots itself" (in en-us). phys.org. https://phys.org/news/2015-10-yacht.html.
11. ↑ "Some Companies Working on Autonomous Boats". Nanalyze. 6 May 2019. https://www.nanalyze.com/2019/05/companies-autonomous-boats/.
12. ↑ Lindeman, Tracey (April 18, 2018). "Autonomous Boats Will Be On the Market Sooner Than Self-Driving Cars". Vice (magazine). https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ne95qm/autonomous-boats-will-be-here-before-self-driving-cars.
13. ↑ Dorsch, Jeff (3 Jun 2018). "Progress And Chaos On Road To Autonomy". SMG. https://semiengineering.com/self-driving-transport-creeps-ahead/.
14. ↑ "Self-driving boats might row soon". The Financial Express (India). June 10, 2018. https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/technology/self-driving-boats-might-row-soon/1200153/.
15. ↑ Lehman, Joel (27 Apr 2018). "The journey to funding: Buffalo Automation's story". Issue Media Group. https://www.upstartny.org/inthenews/The-journey-to-funding-Buffalo-Automation-story.aspx.
16. ↑ Ungureanu, Horia (10 October 2015). "Driverless Autopilot For Boats Will Make The Lives Of Captains Much Easier" (in en). Tech Times. https://www.techtimes.com/articles/93804/20151010/driverless-autopilot-for-boats-will-make-the-lives-of-captains-much-easier.htm.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Buffalo Automation Raises $900,000 In Seed Round". https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2018/04/10/buffalo-automation-raises-900-000-seed-round-led.html.
18. ↑ "Autonomous Boats Will Be On the Market Sooner Than Self-Driving Cars" (in en-us). Motherboard. 2018-04-18. https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/ne95qm/autonomous-boats-will-be-here-before-self-driving-cars.
19. ↑ Zable, Stacey. "Shipping industry sees automation as inevitable next step in evolution". USA Today. http://sea-machines.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/USAToday-August-2018.pdf.
20. ↑ Bouchard, Jay. "No Captain, No Problem: Self-Driving Boats". Great Lakes Boating. https://www.greatlakesboating.com/2016/07/no-captain-no-problem-self-driving-boats.
21. ↑ Levere, Douglas (September 27, 2018). "Buffalo Automation starting to scale its maritime-tech business". Buffalo Business First. https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2018/09/27/buffalo-automation-starting-to-scale-its-maritime.html.
22. ↑ Miner, Dan (April 1, 2016). "Buffalo TechCast (Vol. 64): The world's first self-piloted ship". Buffalo Business First. https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/feature/podcasts/2016/03/buffalo-techcast-the-worlds-first-self-piloted.html.
23. ↑ Ungureanu, Horia (October 10, 2015). "Driverless Autopilot For Boats Will Make The Lives Of Captains Much Easier". Tech Times. https://www.techtimes.com/articles/93804/20151010/driverless-autopilot-for-boats-will-make-the-lives-of-captains-much-easier.htm.
24. ↑ Miner, Dan. "Buffalo Automation starting to scale its maritime-tech business". Buffalo Business First. https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2018/09/27/buffalo-automation-starting-to-scale-its-maritime.html.
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Szklany, Jessica (19 Oct 2020). "UB ventures into funding, invests $250,000 in student-founded startup". UB Now (USA). http://www.buffalo.edu/ubnow/stories/2020/10/buffalo-automation-seed-funding.html.
26. ↑ "The Mayday". Google. 2020. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.buffautomation.flutterai&hl=en_US.
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Miner, Dan (15 Aug 2020). "Who's Your Landlord CEO on personal tragedy, business traction and his company's future". Buffalo Business First (Buffalo, NY). https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2020/08/15/personal-lows-and-business-highs-d.html.
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 "Company demonstrates autonomous water taxi concept at Volunteer Landing" (in en-US). https://www.wbir.com/article/tech/company-demonstrates-autonomous-water-taxi-at-volunteer-landing/51-d5326c5f-02b9-4e1d-acba-7d198ce158d8.
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 "The world's first driverless water taxi has been built in Tennessee". PandoDaily. 2021. https://pando.com/2021/03/02/worlds-first-driverless-water-taxi-has-been-built-tennessee/.
30. ↑ "Company testing driverless water taxi service on Tennessee River" (in en-US). 2021-01-08. https://www.wate.com/news/local-news/company-testing-driverless-water-taxi-service-on-tennessee-river/.
31. ↑ Crocker, Brittany. "World's first self-driving water taxi is ready to ferry passengers in Knoxville" (in en-US). https://www.knoxnews.com/story/money/business/2021/01/11/worlds-first-self-driving-water-taxi-debuts-knoxville/6578481002/.
32. ↑ Lowe, Yohannes (17 Apr 2020). "Britain's first robot water taxis to be unveiled in Plymouth as US tech firm announces trial". The Daily Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group). https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/17/britains-first-robot-water-taxis-unveiled-plymouth-us-tech-firm/.
33. ↑ Wodecki, Ben. "Europe's first commercial robotaxi service is a yellow ferry that takes you to a Dutch golf course". AI Business. https://aibusiness.com/document.asp?doc_id=771218&.
34. ↑ Dragan, Otillia (30 Jul 2021). "This Solar-Powered Electric Ferry Is the First Maritime Robotaxi in Europe". autoevolution (Netherlands). https://www.autoevolution.com/news/this-solar-powered-electric-ferry-is-the-first-maritime-robotaxi-in-europe-166284.html.
35. ↑ "Buffalo Automation and Future Mobility Network Launch Autonomous Ferry Service in Europe". 31 Jul 2021. https://www.robotics247.com/article/buffalo_automation_future_mobility_network_launch_autonomous_ferry_service_europe/supply_chain.
36. ↑ "TV: Self-propelled ferry in operation". bollenstreekomroep.nl (Netherlands). 23 Jul 2021. https://www.bollenstreekomroep.nl/tv-zelf-varende-veerpont-in-bedrijf/.
37. ↑ "First automatic sailing ferry: Municipality of Teylingen has the scoop". Watersport TV (Warmond). 27 Jul 2021. https://www.watersport-tv.nl/nw-31400-7-3898321/nieuws/eerste_automatisch_varende_pont.html.
38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 "Netherlands: Europe's first fully autonomous water taxi". New Mobility News (Netherlands). 3 Aug 2021. https://newmobility.news/2021/08/03/netherlands-europes-first-fully-autonomous-water-taxi/.
39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Miner, Dan (17 May 2020). "Fast growth, hiring binges, millions in funding: Buffalo-based startups offer slivers of hope". https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2020/05/17/fast-growth-hiring-binges-millions-in-funding-b.html.
40. ↑ Desmond, Mike (8 Sep 2020). "Local company using thermal imaging to find a COVID fever in a crowd". NPR (USA). https://news.wbfo.org/post/local-company-using-thermal-imaging-find-covid-fever-crowd.
41. ↑ Branning, Barbara (3 Sep 2020). "UB-linked startup develops technology that streamlines process of detecting fevers". UBNow (USA). http://www.buffalo.edu/ubnow/stories/2020/09/bifrost-temp-scanning.html.
42. ↑ "Startup company founded by UB grads develops technology that streamlines process of detecting fevers". WNY Papers (Niagara Frontier Publications). 2 Sep 2020. https://www.wnypapers.com/news/article/current/2020/09/02/143074/startup-company-founded-by-ub-grads-develops-technology-that-streamlines-process-of-detecting-fevers.
43. ↑ Miner, Dan (16 Oct 2020). "UB makes first venture capital investment into high-tech startup Buffalo Automation". Buffalo Business First (USA). https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2020/10/16/university-buffalo-buffalo-automation.html.
44. ↑ "Buffalo Automation Group takes top prize in Buffalo Student Sandbox accelerator". https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/blog/science-and-technology/2015/07/buffalo-automation-group-takes-top-prize-in.html.
45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 "UB-affiliated artificial intelligence startup raises $900,000 in seed round to advance driverless boat technology - University at Buffalo" (in en). http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2018/04/016.html.
46. ↑ Miner, Dan (2016-04-04). "Self-navigating ship startup wins prestigious Panasci prize". https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2016/04/14/self-navigating-ship-startup-wins-prestigious.html.
47. ↑ "43North announces $5 million competition semifinalists". 23 July 2018. https://www.43north.org/43north-announces-2018-semifinalists/.
48. ↑ "Winners Named for Second Annual AUVSI XCELLENCE Awards" (in en). 2019-04-30. https://www.auvsi.org/winners-named-second-annual-auvsi-xcellence-awards.

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