Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) have been making a huge impact and are used widely in applications such as explosives disposal, operating in hazardous environments, offshore facilities construction and maintenance, ground and marine research and industrial manufacturing.
Anticipated developments of AVs hold a promise for an increasingly significant role in future naval operations. Advances in AV capabilities are enabled (and limited) by progress in the technologies of computing in robotics, navigation, communications, networking, power sources, propulsion, and materials.