Pioneering technology development

Smart Sound Plymouth is a first-of-its-kind within the UK, facilitating the design, testing and development of new products and services for the marine sector.

£1.2m invested in new Plymouth underwater communications network

News | November 1, 2022

The Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has announced that Smart Sound Plymouth is to benefit from a £1.2 million investment, to upgrade the offshore infrastructure and further enhance the unique proving ground for businesses to test,...

Cutting-edge Smart Sound Connect Control Centre opens

News | October 13, 2022

Following on from the successful launch of Smart Sound Connect earlier this year, today marks the opening of a state-of-the-art control centre for the network to further enhance the support provided to industry as part of the Smart Sound testing...

Smart Sound Connect Wins 5G Innovation of the Year Award

News | October 6, 2022

Smart Sound Connect, the world’s first ocean-focussed 5G testbed, has been recognised by the mobile sector as a cutting-edge innovation platform for the development of the next generation of marine technologies.

Vodafone, Plymouth City Council and Plymouth Marine Laboratory announce use cases for world’s first 5G marine-focused testbed

News | March 24, 2022

The Smart Sound Connect Marine 5G Mobile Private Network, deployed by Vodafone and operated by Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), is to be the world’s first 5G marine-focussed testbed, cementing Plymouth’s position at the forefront of marine and maritime innovation The...

Back from the edge: AutoNaut returns from 115 day North Atlantic mission

News | December 2, 2021

A 5m zero-carbon uncrewed boat was welcomed to Penzance on Sunday 28 November after 115 days at sea in the Atlantic, where it has spent time at the edge of the continental shelf gathering scientific data on the surface currents...

FAST cluster featured in ITN Productions and IMarEST film: 'Resilient Ocean'

News | October 27, 2021

A new video co-created by Plymouth Marine Laboratory in partnership with ITN Productions and The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) showcases the innovative developments of the FAST cluster. It features interviews from consortium personnel and footage of...

Countdown to launch of Plymouth’s autonomous fleet

News | March 24, 2021

Scientists, industry leaders and local government are counting down to the launch of a first-of-its-kind multi-million-pound fleet of innovative and interconnected marine technologies off the coast of Plymouth.

Floating the idea: PML supporting the development of an innovative renewable energy platform to serve off-grid coastal communities.

News | March 10, 2021

The large-scale seawater tanks and data analysis expertise at Plymouth Marine Laboratory’s Smart Sound workshop are being used to conduct stability tests on model floating offshore wind platforms as part of the ‘Marlin Star’ project, led by Plymouth-based technology developer...

Meet the New Buoy

News | October 28, 2020

It took three lorries to deliver the tower, floats and other parts of Plymouth Marine Laboratory’s new Autonomous Data Buoy; the buoy is a vastly upgraded replacement for the current L4 buoy, moored out in the Western Channel off the...

New Maritime UK South West video demonstrates the well-established cluster that is driving economic growth in the region

News | October 26, 2020

This short video from Maritime UK South West gives an insight into the various technological and scientific capabilites of the marine industry in the region.

Unlocking Autonomous Navigation Challenge

News | September 18, 2020

The UKHO will be running a series of Innovation Challenges with the goal to accelerate innovative projects across specific sectors. They are inviting industry experts to apply to their latest challenge entitled: identifying, trialling and proving how navigational data can...

New funding, new network, new technology for Smart Sound Plymouth

News | August 12, 2020

A new network of high-speed mobile data connectivity off the coast of Plymouth will put the city at the very forefront of marine innovation.

Smart Sound Webinar: Britain’s platform for innovative marine technology development

News | June 22, 2020

In this recent webinar Dr James Fishwick, Head of Smart Sound Plymouth gives an introduction to Smart Sound Plymouth and the expertise and equipment that is available for use.

Cutting edge unmanned marine vessel now available for use

News | March 5, 2020

A cutting edge unmanned marine vessel capable of conducting research off the South West coast is now available for use by Devon-based small and medium sized businesses.

New video captures first at-sea testing for Smart Sound

News | July 31, 2019

James Fishwick, Head of Smart Sound Plymouth gives an introduction into the capabilties of the Smart Sound and joins clients from ecoSUB robotics for the deployment and testing of their cutting-edge UAVs.

Tender Opportunity: New buoy platform to facilitate trials and validation of innovative marine technologies

News | July 2, 2019

Plymouth Marine Laboratory have operated a highly successful scientific data buoy programme within the context of the Western Channel Observatory for over ten years and are now seeking tenders for the replacement of the L4 buoy, providing the necessary infrastructure to make...

Smart Sound Plymouth to support next generation of marine technologies

News | June 26, 2019

The Marine Business Technology Centre (MBTC) has officially launched Smart Sound Plymouth, a proving area for designing, testing and developing cutting edge products and services for the advanced marine sector.