Robotics

Dan Hook CEng, FRINA, is a naval architect and chartered engineer with over 20 years’ experience in the marine industry. Upon graduating from the University of Southampton, Dan worked on the development, testing and trials of a wide range of specialist craft. During this time, he recognised the potential within the unmanned vehicle industry and specialised in unmanned platform design.

Dan was one of the founding members of ASV Global, now known as L3 ASV and held the position of managing director as the company grew from two employees to about 150 before selling to L3 Harris Technologies. This company continues to be at the forefront of unmanned surface vehicles and has supplied systems around the world for defence, survey, oil and gas and scientific applications. Dan has since gone on to work with several small start-ups in the marine technology space with a focus on electric propulsion, low emissions and connectivity.

In addition to commercial business interests Dan is also a Trustee of the National Oceanography Centre and active on many industry/government initiatives to grow the UK marine industry.

Keith has over 25 years experience of working on commercial and military projects for UK and international customers.

Specialising in the design and integration of EV propulsion and power systems (marine and automotive) with expertise in the design and integration of electrical control systems for Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs).

Additionally experienced in:
Autosport/Motorsport: Electrical design for road and track applications.
Aviation/Avionics: Wind tunnel and high-pressure air control and data acquisition system design.
Production: Automated Test Equipment (ATE) design for front line aircraft avionics.
Test fixture and test process design for high volume manufacturing environments.

Peter Byford is chief technical officer at RAD Propulsion, leading all technical aspects of product development and overseeing the delivery of complex engineering projects.

Since joining RAD, Peter has played a central role in the design and development of the company’s electric propulsion systems, helping to position RAD at the forefront of sustainable marine technology.

Before RAD, Peter was head of electrical systems at L3Harris Technologies, where he led the design and delivery of advanced marine robotic systems. Earlier in his career he gained extensive experience in the automotive sector, working with major OEMs and race teams, and he spent over a decade in web development and online database systems delivering digital solutions for blue-chip clients.

Peter holds a first-class degree in automotive engineering and brings a blend of technical depth, cross-industry experience, and practical leadership to his role.

Harry graduated from the University of Southampton with a MEng in Electronic Engineering. His extensive skillset covers processor and PCB design as well as web development and cloud infrastructure. At RAD Harry leads a team of engineers to deliver digital systems enabling the electrification of marine propulsion.

During his degree he focused on embedded systems design, particularly networked sensor systems and low-level electronic design. His masters’ project involved novel analogue design for a secure system.

Dave is a very experienced engineering and project manager who has a proven track record in the successful delivery of a large number of both government and commercial projects with a particular emphasis on projects related to the delivery of research and technology in the marine sector. He has worked for both large defence primes and various marine leisure electronics manufacturers (including Garmin and Raymarine).

His most recent role, before joining RAD Propulsion, was as the engineering manager for a software engineering team within a small start-up company that developed autonomous surface vehicles.

His project delivery and management skills are backed up by over eight years practical experience working in the commercial offshore oil and gas sector and as such he has direct first-hand experience of the challenges of developing products for the harsh marine environment.