Owning entity: HDES (U.S. LLC formation in progress)
Project lead: Jason Von Holmes
Status: Design development and prototype planning
Updated: 7 October 2026 (v0.5)
U.S. inland waterways carry nearly 500 million tons of freight annually. The U.S. mariner shortage has been described as a strategic national-security concern, and the NTSB found operator fatigue caused a 2023 towboat-pier allision on the Lower Mississippi River. During the 2022 Mississippi River low-water event, loading drafts were reduced to 9 ft 6 in, cutting tons per barge by roughly 20–27%. These conditions motivate research into ways supervised autonomy, better telemetry, and lower-draft platforms could support safer and more flexible operations without assuming that autonomy replaces required crews.
PISO-AID explores supervised autonomy on low-cost, shallow-draft platforms. Bob 1 is a small uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) test platform intended to develop and validate navigation, telemetry, data logging, and supervised-operation methods before scaling.
The proposed control architecture uses an industry-standard small-USV autopilot approach: a CubePilot Cube Orange+ running ArduPilot Rover in boat configuration, with the Holybro Pixhawk 6X retained as an alternative. These components are proposed and have not been purchased, integrated, or tested.
Full-scale vessels are envisioned as crewed platforms with supervised autonomy, consistent with current U.S. Coast Guard crewing requirements.
Primary applications
- U.S. inland waterway freight research
- Port and terminal operations research
Secondary applications
- Remote observation
- Small-lot cargo movement
- Possible later adaptation for Lake Piso, Liberia, subject to local needs, permissions, and validation
A mechanical and electrical design archive, fabrication drawing set, component references and high-level system documentation have been assembled. A document review identified configuration and integration issues to resolve before establishing an approved build.
Operational autonomy, payload, endurance and field performance have not been verified in the reviewed evidence. No prototype has been built or water-tested. This repository contains project documentation and a runnable visual explorer; vehicle-control software is not included.
See the current status.
The owner-approved Visual Explorer v0.3 adds a rotatable assembled/exploded view, selectable components, a 30-row parts index and a flotation scenario calculator. It uses the official HDES logo and orange/charcoal palette, with Metric, Imperial (US), and Both measurement displays.
Run it: Open the hosted BOB 1 Visual Explorer. It runs directly in your browser through this repository's GitHub Pages site. Source and instructions · Calculation and source basis. The single-file HTML remains available for optional offline use.
The assembly remains schematic; small hardware is grouped and enclosure internals are not individually modeled. The calculator does not establish safe payload or stability. Exact Facundo/Scandia webfonts and real-browser layout verification remain outstanding.
| Isometric view 02 | Isometric view 04 |
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The uploaded renderings and animation illustrate the design concept. They do not establish a built or tested prototype. Open the animation.
See the system overview for the general arrangement and original system block diagram, and the drawing register for the V03 drawing package index.
Summary of the 12 September 2026 preliminary capacity estimate (calculation revision 0): ideal-cylinder flotation model and an initial transverse stability sensitivity at an assumed centre-of-gravity height. The complete-craft CAD mass of 80.4 kg uses about a third of nominal displacement; initial stability margin falls quickly above roughly 120 kg total mass in the modelled geometry. It is not a payload rating. The interactive version is the explorer's load-case lab.
The project is organized around measurable technical uncertainties in navigation, operator intervention, payload economics, and evidence-quality telemetry.
Read Research questions, Acceptance criteria, Test plan, and Proposed control architecture.
| Stage | Purpose | Evidence produced | Likely funding fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob 1 (USV test platform) | Prove supervised navigation at small scale | Test logs vs. acceptance criteria | Self-funded / small grants |
| Bob 2 (cargo prototype) | Cargo handling, endurance, shallow-draft performance | Payload and endurance data | NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I |
| Full-scale pilot | Crewed supervised-autonomy pilot on U.S. inland waters | Operational and safety data | SBIR/STTR Phase II, DoD, MARAD, port partners |
The six existing milestones run from design reconciliation through next-stage funding. Completion, dates, and funding amounts are not implied.
Read the roadmap, current status, system overview, regulatory approach, and the Phase 1 budget (estimate vs. actual, Korean retail pricing, nothing purchased).
Jason Von Holmes, Project Lead and intended Principal Investigator, HDES. 14 years in U.S. Air Force civil engineering. Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems program manager and operator, 51st Civil Engineer Squadron, Osan Air Base (2017–2022): managed a $550,000 sUAS program, supervised up to five operators in day and night operations, executed the Rapid Airfield Damage Assessment System (RADAS) mission, and led the first Air Force unit to inspect installation roofs by unmanned aircraft. Currently quality control and project coordination on U.S. federal construction task orders in South Korea. BS Computer Science, University of Maryland Global Campus (2026). MS student, Information Technology (Systems Engineering concentration), UMGC. ORCID: 0009-0007-2898-8478.
Public record: Air Force RADAS article · DVIDS roof-inspection image, 2 Nov 2020
Areas of interest include marine/mechanical design review, embedded control, robotics, test planning, fabrication and prospective operating partners. These are collaboration interests, not confirmed partnerships.
Future support would help fund engineering reconciliation, components, integration and documented testing. Funding amount, schedule and program eligibility will be established from a scoped work plan and current opportunity requirements.
Pre-funding trials: South Korea (site TBD, with required permission). Funded trials: United States.
See the funding overview, one-page project brief, and collaboration guide.
Contact Jason on GitHub or open a general inquiry using this repository's issue template. For a deeper technical discussion, a separate private review package is available by arrangement with the project lead.
The 12-document audit and gap assessment records partial coverage in seven areas, four deliverables not located, and a newly created draft RTM with 34 candidate requirements. Requirements approval, test evidence and certification remain outstanding.
HDES is the owning entity for the project; U.S. LLC formation is in progress. This public repository presents project intent, development status and plans. Detailed source records are maintained separately.
Copyright HDES. All rights reserved. No license is granted.
Publishing this overview does not grant rights to commissioned designs or supplier assets. Any concept illustrations or animations are illustrative only and are not evidence of successful operation or verified CAD geometry.
- American Journal of Transportation, “Importance of Inland Waterways Stands Out with Mississippi River Low Water Emergency”: https://airfreight.news/articles/full/ajot-importance-of-inland-waterways-stands-out-with-mississippi-river-low-water-emergency
- MarineLink Intelligence, vessel/operator-fatigue reporting referenced for U.S. mariner-shortage context: https://intelligence.marinelink.com/vessels/vessel/mariner-322407
- U.S. GAO testimony via USNI News, “Coast Guard’s Approach to Autonomous Ship Regulations”: https://news.usni.org/2025/12/31/gao-testimony-on-the-coast-guards-approach-to-autonomous-ship-regulations