DEPLOYDatabase

Robot model

Bluebottle

Ocius Technology (Sydney, New South Wales; founder and chief executive Robert Dane, evolved from his earlier Solar Sailor venture and renamed Ocius in 2014)…

Track Bluebottle
Manufacturer
Ocius Technology
Form factor
maritime_surface
Maturity
commercial
Lifecycle
active
Deployments
1
Website
ocius.com.au ↗

Overview

Ocius Technology (Sydney, New South Wales; founder and chief executive Robert Dane, evolved from his earlier Solar Sailor venture and renamed Ocius in 2014) makes the Bluebottle, a wind-, solar-, and wave-powered persistent autonomous surface vessel, recorded in the maritime form factor. The Bluebottle harvests energy three ways, through a patented hard solar sail combining wind and solar, crystalline-silicon solar panels, and rudder-mounted wave oscillators for passive propulsion, giving it average missions of about 75 days and a longest deployment of 184 days. The registry records it at commercial maturity: a A$176 million, 40-vessel, five-year Royal Australian Navy program of record announced on March 11, 2026 expands the RAN fleet from 15 to 55 vessels with deliveries from early 2026, and Ocius has operated Bluebottles around the clock from HMAS Coonawarra in Darwin for the border-security Operation Resolute since July 1, 2024 with 15 vessels already delivered. Its editorial throughline is the persistent-presence-via-energy-harvesting hardware archetype, with theoretically indefinite endurance and vessels sold outright to the RAN and US primes, distinct from Saildrone's captive data-as-a-service and Saronic's US new-defense procurement. Several cap-flags and corrections apply: the A$176 million figure's ceiling-versus-obligated split is undisclosed in all sources including the primary government release, so it is recorded as a government-reported headline value; the US Navy relationship is indirect through the prime ThayerMahan, which bought two Bluebottles for A$2.4 million and ran the US Navy anti-submarine-warfare demonstrations rather than a direct US Navy procurement; a NOAA customer relationship could not be verified and is dropped; and Ocius's funding is not verifiable with no institutional round, while its founding year and hull length conflict across sources.

Verified vs. claimed

Maturity stage
commercial(Commercially deployed with revenue-generating operations.)
Verified deployments
1 deployment on file
Sources on file
4 sources, view all

Key facts

Payload

up to ~300 kg

Payload power

~150 W

Operating speed

~2 kn speed of advance

Runtime

~75-day average missions, longest 184 days

Hull length

~6.8-7.4m

Specs

Notes

Verified: Ocius Technology (Sydney; founder/CEO Robert Dane) makes the Bluebottle, a wind+solar+wave-powered PERSISTENT surface USV. A$176M / 40-vessel / 5-year RAN program of record announced 11 Mar 2026 (expanding the RAN fleet 15->55; deliveries from early 2026). Operating from HMAS Coonawarra (Darwin) for Operation Resolute (border security) since 1 Jul 2024; 15 vessels already delivered. maturity=commercial (named-program contract + fielded systems in active government ops)., Editorial throughline (persistent-presence archetype): Ocius is the PERSISTENT-PRESENCE-via-energy-harvesting HARDWARE archetype - theoretically indefinite endurance, ships vessels OUTRIGHT to the RAN + US primes. Distinct from Saildrone (captive data-as-a-service) and Saronic (US new-defense procurement-sale)., CAP-FLAGS / corrections: (1) The A$176M ceiling-vs-OBLIGATED split is UNDISCLOSED in ALL sources (incl. the primary government release) - record as government-reported headline value, not obligated. (2) The 'US Navy customer' is INDIRECT via ThayerMahan (Ocius sold 2 Bluebottles A$2.4M; ThayerMahan ran the US Navy ASW demos) - NOT a direct US Navy procurement. (3) NOAA as a customer could NOT be verified - DROPPED. (4) Funding/valuation not verifiable (no institutional round); founding year (1997 vs 1999) + hull length (6.8 vs 7.4m) conflict - cap-flag.

Specs

Bluebottle: single-hull ~6.8-7.4m USV with THREE energy-harvesting systems (patented hard 'solar sail' wind+solar; crystalline-silicon solar; rudder-mounted wave oscillators for passive wave propulsion). ~150 W payload power, up to ~300 kg payload, ~2 kn speed of advance. Verified endurance: ~75-day average missions, longest 184 days. Founder Robert Dane; Sydney NSW (from Solar Sailor, renamed Ocius 2014). Hardware-sale model.

Form Factor

maritime (autonomous SURFACE vessel / USV; wind+solar+wave energy-harvesting; persistent presence)

Data & sources

Press releases

1

Web sources

3

4 sources backing this record.View all →

Pricing

No verified price is on record for Bluebottle. Physical-AI systems are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price.

How DEPLOY tracks pricing

Deployments (1)

  • Bluebottle at Australiaoperational

    The Australian Department of Defence contracted Ocius Technology for Bluebottle persistent unmanned surface vehicles in 2021.

Bluebottle on the deployment map

Where Bluebottle is verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.

Recent activity

Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.

Full change history →

Deployment-verified media (1)

PRIMARY SOURCE
Courtesy of Ocius Technology

Ocius Technology's film for its Bluebottle uncrewed surface vehicle, powered by solar, wind, and wave energy. 'Satellites of the sea' and 'navigate freely and indefinitely' are the maker's marketing framing.

From deployment: Australia

Safety record

No incidents on record for Bluebottle.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Sources (4)

  1. https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/media-releases/2026-03-11/albanese-government-invests-176-million-new-fleet-australian-made-uncrewed-vessels
  2. https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2026/03/australia-orders-fleet-of-40-bluebottle-uncrewed-surface-vessels/
  3. https://www.ocius.com.au/blog/2024july19_pressrelease/
  4. https://www.australiandefence.com.au/news/news/ocius-sells-two-bluebottles-to-the-us-delivers-additional-vessel-to-navy

Common questions

What is Bluebottle?
Ocius Technology (Sydney, New South Wales; founder and chief executive Robert Dane, evolved from his earlier Solar Sailor venture and renamed Ocius in 2014) makes the Bluebottle, a wind-, solar-, and wave-powered persistent autonomous surface vessel, recorded in the maritime form factor. The Bluebottle harvests energy three ways, through a patented hard solar sail combining wind and solar, crystalline-silicon solar panels, and rudder-mounted wave oscillators for passive propulsion, giving it average missions of about 75 days and a longest deployment of 184 days. The registry records it at commercial maturity: a A$176 million, 40-vessel, five-year Royal Australian Navy program of record announced on March 11, 2026 expands the RAN fleet from 15 to 55 vessels with deliveries from early 2026, and Ocius has operated Bluebottles around the clock from HMAS Coonawarra in Darwin for the border-security Operation Resolute since July 1, 2024 with 15 vessels already delivered. Its editorial throughline is the persistent-presence-via-energy-harvesting hardware archetype, with theoretically indefinite endurance and vessels sold outright to the RAN and US primes, distinct from Saildrone's captive data-as-a-service and Saronic's US new-defense procurement. Several cap-flags and corrections apply: the A$176 million figure's ceiling-versus-obligated split is undisclosed in all sources including the primary government release, so it is recorded as a government-reported headline value; the US Navy relationship is indirect through the prime ThayerMahan, which bought two Bluebottles for A$2.4 million and ran the US Navy anti-submarine-warfare demonstrations rather than a direct US Navy procurement; a NOAA customer relationship could not be verified and is dropped; and Ocius's funding is not verifiable with no institutional round, while its founding year and hull length conflict across sources.
How much does Bluebottle cost?
Bluebottle's price is not publicly disclosed. DEPLOY has no verified price on record for Bluebottle from Ocius Technology. Physical-AI systems like this are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price; check the manufacturer for the latest.
Is Bluebottle actually deployed in the real world?
Yes. Bluebottle is independently verified in real-world operation on the DEPLOY registry, confirmed at named deployment sites with primary sources: not a concept, render, or demo-only.
Who makes Bluebottle?
Bluebottle is made by Ocius Technology, based in Sydney, Australia, founded in 1999.
Where is Bluebottle deployed?
1 verified deployment of Bluebottle is on the DEPLOY registry, including at Australia.
Methodology: Verified · 4 sources (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-12

Verification posture

Verified

High confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-12

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: commercial

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: maritime_surface

Sources by quality tier

3
unclassified
Unclassified source
1
primary-company-ir
Company IR disclosure

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Bluebottle.

Recent coverage

Bluebottle in third-party press

Australia sets up maritime autonomous unit amidst unmanned push - Asian Military Review

Apr 17, 2026

Australia Orders 40 Bluebottle USVs for Surveillance - Defensemirror.com

Mar 11, 2026

Australia set to field one of the world’s largest fleets of maritime drones with $176m investment - defenceconnect.com.au

Mar 11, 2026