Innovators Come Together to Share Expertise in Maritime Technology

ANTX Coastal Trident Attendees Look to the Future of Security, Technology Collaboration

Sactec Solar panels

PORT OF HUENEME, July 31, 2019 – As a Navy team, donned in full hazmat gear, sprayed down a diver climbing out of a pool in a contamination simulation, and as a “DroneKiller” disabled a drone in midair, a special event was in full swing today at the Port of Hueneme. The Port continues to be the incubator for cutting-edge technology, serving as the venue for today’s Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX) Coastal Trident and Open House. Sophisticated technologies were showcased, as well as dramatic demonstrations of security and safety procedures, from drone disabling equipment to teams showing critical, life-saving procedures when confronted with a diver encountering contamination. The Port’s commitment to environment was evident as the entire event was run on solar power.

Nearly 300 attendees and more than 40 exhibitors were at the event to network, collaborate and share ideas on how to work together to strengthen safety and enhance community. Two panel sessions, several demonstrations, and a Shark Tank-style pitch fest for tech products were featured throughout the day.

Oxnard Harbor District President Jess Herrera highlighted the importance of this event. “We are pleased to continue to provide the Port as a venue to foster great ideas, collaborations and potential partnerships. Working together will only serve to strengthen technology for our port, military, business and community.”

Kristin Decas welcomes attendees to ANTX

Kristin Decas, CEO and Director of the Port of Hueneme, welcomed attendees to the event and mentioned the Coastal Trident Exercises have occurred at the Port since 2007, which are aimed to sharpen the collaborative response of emergency and security teams to potential real-world disasters. She touched on the success of the Port’s Maritime Advanced Systems and Technology (MAST) laboratory, a partnership between the Port, Economic Development Collaborative, Matter Labs, and Naval Base Ventura County, MAST brings together a network of leading academic, research, test and evaluation, and in-service engineering centers to further expand the nation’s ability to provide solutions to relevant challenges in the maritime domain.

“We’ve done incredible Coastal Trident exercises here at the Port with over 200 agencies involved, to make our jurisdictional security programs more and more robust and to keep our communities secure,” said Decas. “Through MAST we are looking to grow in the security landscape. We’ve taken it to a whole new level. And today we’ve taken it even further with MAST, Coastal Trident and ANTX. We are working with our partners to innovate, test and play.”

One of two informative panels at ANTX. Fathomwerx panel: Alan Jaeger, Katelyn Rydberg, Erick Went, Christina Birdsey and moderator Vance Brahosky, Deputy Technical Director NSWC PHD

Christina Birdsey (COO of the Port), Erick Went (co-founder of Matter Labs), Katelyn Rydberg (Innovation and Technology Transition Director of Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center Port Hueneme) and Alan Jaeger (Office of Research and Technology Applications, Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme), introduced Fathomwerx, the technological workspace on Port that was spawned out of MAST collaborations.

The panel also touched upon the importance of STEM education and opportunities to connect with students. Christina Birdsey said “Our MAST event in April had close to 350 students talking to technologists and entrepreneurs, and to be able to understand what kind of opportunities are in the STEM field as well as on the Navy side and in the maritime domain as a whole. It’s eye opening for students to see that there are all of these different types of jobs and here at ANTX are partners that are able to connect the dots and continue outreach.”

Commissioner Mary Anne Rooney was excited by the commitment of the MAST partners, panelists and attendees to promote STEM education and education of youth in these fields. “Students are, quite literally, our future. If we can continue to bring students into the conversations about science, technology and engineering, we are positioning ourselves to have the strongest workforce in Ventura County and experience positive growth.”

 
Demonstration of contaminated diving and decontamination procedures by NAVFAC EXWC (Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center) at ANTX

Exhibitors at ANTX included:

• 8H8HZ
• A.Young Group
• Aerial Alchemy
• AeroComputers, Inc.
• Airrow Ltd.
• AKTOptimize
• Apollo Robotics Corporation
• Avnet, Inc.
• Biostrap
• Breadware, Inc.
• Clinkenbeard & Associates, Inc.
• Cryptomove
• Elite Robotics
• Enisphere
• Fathomwerx
• General Dynamics
• Global Systems Engineering
• GoTek Energy, Inc.
• Gyrene Engineering Management
• iCode Mobile Solutions
• Intellisense Systems Inc.
• IXI Technology
• Maren-go Solutions Corporation
• Matter Labs/CTM
• Mothership Aeronautics
• Nanoarmor/EPIC
• NanoFlowX LLC
• NAVFAC EXWC
• Navicom Dynamics Ltd.
• NIWC PAC
• NIWC Pacific
• Oak Analytics
• PteroDynamics Inc.
• QES
• Reference Technologies Inc.
• SacTec Solar
• Seatrec, Inc.
• Sensor Industries Corp.
• Smartronix, Inc.
• Transhield, Inc.
• UC Santa Barbara
• Viasat Inc.
• VTA DRONES, LLC.
• Water Einstein

Erick Went introduced the Shark Tank-like panel “informed Innovation”, giving inventors, technologist and entrepreneurs an opportunity to “pitch” their product to an expert panel. PteroDynamics’ Transwing aircraft design, DryWired’s rust-protect coating, and Apollorobotics’ state-of-the-art aerial device were featured, and greeted with interest by the panel.

Keynote speaker Paul Mann of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme stressed the importance of continuing technological collaboration. Events like these “enhance engagement opportunities, help us build professional networks and relationships where technical capabilities and subject matter experts of industry and academia could come together and solve problems and think differently about the solutions we need.”

Learn more about the Port’s MAST Program here.
Learn more about the recent Coastal Trident exercise here.