U.S. Navy Chooses Bacalhau to Manage Predictive Maintenance Workloads

Bacalhau deployment example (4 min)

and

Nov 29, 2023

Introduction

In a lighthouse project that is adopting new technologies, the U.S. Navy chose Bacalhau open-source software, supported by Expanso, as an orchestration solution. Bacalhau software assists the U.S. Navy with their goal of deploying artificial intelligence capabilities in undersea operations. Working closely with our partner Mycelial, Expanso addressed several obstacles to allow the use of AI-enabled analytics in the demanding and harsh conditions found in deep ocean environments. Bacalhau also was able to satisfy the U.S. Navy's stringent security standards, while making it possible to access data and computation over unreliable networks.

Bacalhau’s Role in Unmanned Naval Operations

Modern navy vessels are equipped with sophisticated sensors and systems to amplify combat effectiveness. Among these, the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Undersea Vessels (UUVs) and Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) create a significant amount of valuable data, which are critical for making decisions. Bacalhau enhances these vessels' on-device data processing (so-called Compute-over-Data) abilities with its innovative approach to seamless edge deployment, while providing the ability to schedule and control jobs from anywhere in the world.

Contributing to JADC2 Program

The Department of Defense’s Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) program marked a significant step towards AI/ML-driven military readiness. Bacalhau has been a key enabler in this shift. Bacalhau facilitates the deployment of complex models, maintenance and observability of deployed solutions, and reliable updating of new versions as more retraining and fine-tuning occurs. Providing a global view and reliable execution can be especially difficult when dealing with networks that can disconnect at any time; Bacalhau’s platform deals with these challenges as a core part of its design.

Seamless Data Integration

The success of this project depended on sharing data across an entire fleet of unmanned vessels, manned vessels, and cloud environments. Bacalhau’s platform, together with Mycelial’s Kafka connector, ensured real-time synchronization and on-device data processing over networks of varying quality and bandwidth.

Minimal Infrastructure, Maximum Protection

Conventional solutions require heavy hardware investments, whereas Bacalhau is designed to maximize efficiency using minimal infrastructure and data transfer. If there is spare capacity, the Bacalhau platform can work on existing devices and systems, avoiding the need for new hardware deployments. The reuse of existing hardware within an organization also offers benefits since current systems have been evaluated and locked down to their specific security requirements. Further, In an area where space, weight, and power (SWaP) are critical, Bacalhau proves that effective data processing and security can be achieved with minimal resource usage. Bacalhau operates in perfect synergy with existing technologies, offering a streamlined, potent solution to meet the intense demands of naval operations.

Conclusion

Bacalhau has validated the immense potential of AI in undersea naval operations, setting a new standard for future technological advancements. As we mark this achievement, we remain committed to challenging limits, driving forward with innovations that enhance our customers' operations, and enabling simple edge data processing.