The TSUNAMI® is a collaboration between Brunswick Corporation and Textron Systems to support the latter’s contract award from the DIU (Defense Innovation Unit). Similar to aerial drones, maritime surface drones or Uncrewed Surface Vehicles (USV) extend logistics, defensive and offensive capabilities in GPS and communication-challenged war zones. They also provide significant advantages in cost and safety, since these are small, low-cost, rapidly deployable vehicles that can support a variety of missions. Brunswick Corporation provides the vessel, and propulsion, electronics and electrical systems. Textron provides the autonomy, control and communication stack. Obviously, its not a recreational vehicle! As discussed in a previous article , given the current situation and tension in global maritime traffic, the whole arena of autonomous maritime drones is currently hyper-active. Commercial shipping has also actively embraced autonomy to enhance safety and overcome human crew distraction and boredom.

Brunswick has a storied history. Started in 1845 by John Brunswick, a Swiss immigrant to the United State, and a master woodsman who specialized in making wooden horse carriages. He moved on to making billiard tables, and bowling equipment for the next 80 years. In 1925, the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). After a series of acquisitions and multiple product lines in the medical and technology areas, the company entered the boating business in 2005. Today, it is one of the longest continually publicly traded companies on the NYSE, with a valuation of $7B, 14,000 employees across 26 countries, and annual revenues of ~$6B. It is a global leader in recreational boats, marine engines and marine parts and accessories.

The company has been making investments in integrating technologies into their maritime vehicles to make boating easier, safer and more intuitive, adding complete L4 autonomy for certain maneuvers like undocking, docking, and close quarter path planning and control. The point is to draw in less experienced customers to recreational boating, and providing aids through sensors, AI and software to create a frictionless, enjoyable and safe experience. This is analogous to the use of sensing and AI technology in cars and trucks - the incorporation of assisted and full autonomy features enables less experienced or mobility-challenged human drivers to enjoy the benefits of mobility. Its no surprise then that Aine Denari, the company CTO came from a background in automotive safety, heading up ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) efforts at the ZF Group, a major Tier 1 automotive supplier. CEO David Foulkes is focused on transforming Brunswick into a technology focused corporation. Prior to joining Brunswick, he served at the Ford Motor Company in a variety of engineering and executive roles.

Brunswick demonstrated their ACES Strategy (Autonomy/Assistance, Connectivity, Electrification, and Shared Access) at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2026. It also unveiled an impressive showcase of marine technology and AI-Driven Boating Experiences, including Boating Intelligence™ initiative to incorporate AI features into its products to deliver simpler, safer, smarter, and more sustainable boating. Boating Intelligence™ is its innovation hub, bringing together multi-disciplinary teams across divisions to develop next generation technologies for boating users.

Brunswick 2026 New York Media Day

The company held a media day event on August 18, 2026, at the Brooklyn Bridge Marina, providing access to the company’s latest innovations across boating, propulsion, navigation, and marine technology. This included autonomous boating capabilities, electrification, advanced navigation systems, and connected boating experiences. The media were given first hand experience of a lineup of Brunswick MSVs and technologies, including the AutoCaptain autonomous navigation system , Simrad multifunction displays, radar systems and navigation, and advanced marine electronics and connectivity solutions. Featured boats included:

  1. Boston Whaler 405 Conquest , with AutoCaptain technology (auto-docking) and Simrad displays and HALO radar
  2. Sea Ray SLX 360 with AutoCaptain integration and Advanced Simrad navigation
  3. Boston Whaler 330 Outrage with Simrad NSS4 display technology and navigation

Brunswick’s boating efforts are organized into 4 major divisions:

  1. Mercury Marine Propulsion Systems: builds the propulsion systems that power all Brunswick MSVs, whether gasoline, diesel or electrically powered. These are manufactured in the USA, and also sold to other bat manufacturers.
  2. Boating Group manufactures boats of different sizes, power and performance, spanning 17 separate brands
  3. Navico Group: develops and builds all of the electronic, sensor, display, navigation and autonomy solutions that power Brunswick’s MSV lineup
  4. Freedom Boat Club: manages 450 global clubs that enable shared access to its members of the Brunswick recreational boating experience. It serves approximately 15,000 members, a majority of them in the United States.

As shown in Figure 1, Brunswick incorporates a variety of sensors that enable ACES, including cameras, radar, GPS and thermal cameras. As shown in Figure 1, some of the boating brands are equipped with FLIR thermal cameras which sense temperature gradients in the scene. This allows boaters to see clearly in total darkness, through blinding solar glare, and in bad weather. It makes possible capabilities like night navigation and obstacle avoidance in illumination starved or blinding solar-water reflection conditions. These cameras also connect to Simrad displays to overlay with camera and radar imagery. The company is currently evaluating LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) 3D imaging technology for future integration (LiDAR is a critical ADAS and automotive autonomy sensor), although it faces challenges due to water reflections and ghost images.

Autonomy Demos at the New York Media 2026 Event

Key demonstrations at the event included the use of the Simrad AutoCaptain which are integrated on the Boston Whaler and Sea Ray. The autonomy features operate during undocking and docking (similar to L4 self-parking in cars), which are challenging for less experienced users. It relies on proprietary technologies and systems that improve vessel awareness, decision support and control, using a combination of maps and camera, radar, GPS and position sensors. The MSVs are controlled autonomously in 6 degrees of freedom during the docking and undocking portion of the journey. Once the vehicle starts cruising, human control takes over, assisted by various display, positioning, mapping and navigation aids (this is similar to ADAS L2+ autonomy where several driver assist features kick in but the human is always in control).

Simrad ® AutoCaptain ™ orchestrated auto-docking capabilities at the New York Media Day, demonstrating docking, undocking, and short distance maneuvering (Figure 3). It integrates Mercury Marine ® integration and a dedicated Simrad ® display app experience for a seamless user experience. “With the introduction of AutoCaptain, we are rounding out Brunswick’s ACES strategy by delivering true autonomy, starting with one of the most challenging aspects of boating – docking,” said Aine Denari, EVP & President, Navico Group and Brunswick Chief Technology Officer. "It allows allowing boaters to focus on enjoying their time on the water. The plan is to support an expanding suite of autonomous features that will be rolled out via software updates, enhancing the boating experience by making it more accessible and intuitive for everyone.”

The technologies include real-time 360-degree situational awareness, intelligent adjustments counteract wind, current, and nearby obstacles detected by the system, ensuring every movement is smooth and deliberate while under the watchful eye of the captain at the helm. The capability is purpose-built, and designed to work anywhere, even in areas where the boat has not been before, dynamically adapts to the environment in real time.

Simrad ® AutoCaptain will made its official debut on Boston Whaler ® 405 Conquest models at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in October 2026, where it will be available for purchase and on-water demonstrations. This marks the beginning of a broader rollout, with plans to expand availability through additional boatbuilder partners in the near future.

Autonomy for maritime vehicles is on the rise - for commercial, defense and consumer applications. Brunswick is leading the way for autonomy in consumer recreational MSVs, adapting a lot of technologies that have been matured in other terrestrial and aerial sectors of the Autonomy of Things (AoT) revolution - drones, passenger and commercial vehicles, railroads, construction, agriculture and mining. It has unique challenges in sensors, perception, decision making and control, but is progressing and provides significant commercial opportunities. As opposed to terrestrial and aerial autonomy which are generally all about work, productivity and stress, recreational MSVs serve a different purpose - pleasure and relaxation. Autonomy progress will make it a frictionless experience.

AoT® is a Registered Trademark of Patience Consulting LLC.