AUSTIN, Texas, July 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Saronic Technologies today unveiled Echelon, a unified platform that enables advanced mission planning, high-fidelity simulation, and real-time command-and-control (C2) for its growing fleet of Autonomous Surface Vessels (ASVs). Built to enable scalable, distributed operations, Echelon allows a single operator to plan, simulate, and execute complex missions across multiple autonomous assets—using a single interface.
As maritime environments become increasingly contested and operationally complex, both defense and commercial users require intuitive solutions to deploy, manage, and dynamically task autonomous systems at scale. Success in these domains hinges on advanced mission planning, scalable C2, and the ability to operate reliably with or without continuous connectivity. Echelon aims to deliver on this need by combining mission planning, simulation, and execution capabilities into one system, accelerating deployment timelines and reducing cognitive load for operators.
With Echelon, operators are provided with an intuitive interface for rapidly designing and testing missions in a high-fidelity simulation environment. Enabled by Saronic's deep instrumentation across the hardware and software stack, this simulation layer delivers full visibility into vessel autonomy, providing insight into the vessel's performance capabilities prior to deployment. Once validated in simulation, the mission is easily deployed to the designated ASV(s). Mission observation and real-time control are available as needed, though Saronic ASVs are uniquely capable of operating independently without persistent communications, a critical requirement for denied or degraded environments.
During operation, Echelon prioritizes the safety, reliability, and effective control of Saronic ASVs. The platform combines ultra-low-latency video streaming with intelligent, autonomy-aware alerts generated from the vessels' onboard sensors and mission telemetry. By surfacing only the most relevant data, from subsystem telemetry to autonomy behaviors, Echelon helps operators stay focused, informed, and ready to make high-impact decisions in real-time.
"Echelon is aligned with Saronic's core belief that a vertically integrated system across both software and hardware will best enable our end users to achieve their mission objectives," said Vibhav Altekar, Co-Founder and CTO at Saronic. "While our vessels remain compatible with third-party C2 systems, Echelon was purpose-built to unlock the full potential of Saronic's autonomy stack and deliver an intuitive mission-ready capability to our customers."
Saronic continues to push the boundaries of distributed autonomy with Echelon. The unified platform represents a critical step forward in Saronic's mission to enable one-to-many operations, where a single operator can command and control a heterogeneous fleet of ASVs—reliably, safely, and at scale.
For more information about Saronic, please visit: https://www.saronic.com.
Contact: Press@saronic.com
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Saronic Unveils Echelon: A Unified Platform for Mission Planning, Simulation, and Command-and-Control of Autonomous Surface Vessels
The Initiative Aims to Address the Pain Points of Family Filmmaking
BEIJING, Dec. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 6th, the 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival opened in Beijing. SmallRig, a global specialized provider of imaging solutions, collaborating with FamilyLens, is empowering family filmmaking through various initiatives, including the Family Filmmaking Co-Creation Initiative, a dedicated family filmmaking kit, and a social impact screening program.
Deepening the "Co-Creation Initiatives"
The Co-Creation Initiatives are a series of global creative initiatives open to filmmakers and image creators worldwide. Through deep collaboration across multiple dimensions — including product co-creation, discovery and promotion, and content co-creation — SmallRig aims to expand the boundaries of mobile filmmaking and bring the spirit of Free Your Dream to life with creators everywhere.
Following the launch of the Mobile Filmmaking Co-Creation Initiative at the 14th International Smartphone Film Festival, SmallRig announced the launch of the Family Filmmaking Co-Creation Initiative on December 6th at the 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival. The initiative invites global creators and every family to participate, focusing on three core directions: product co-creation, work promotion, and content co-creation, to explore the possibilities of family filmmaking for everyone.
Mr. Zhou Yang, Founder and CEO of SmallRig, shared the inspiration for the initiative: "The initiative is rooted in the immense universality and profound emotional depth inherent in family narratives, which serve as a common emotional bond connecting global audiences. We firmly believe that in this era, where everyone can be a content creator, every family can and should film their own story. The instinct to create is deeply embedded in the human spirit, and every home is the origin of countless narratives."
Gu Xue, Founder and Director of the FamilyLens International Film Festival, stated: "We hope that people and practitioners around the world who care about family movies can find suitable solutions and gain insights from the Co-Creation Initiatives. We look forward to more and more people exploring the field of 'Home' together through this initiative."
To address the pain points of family filmmaking, SmallRig officially released the SmallRig Family Filmmaking Kit at the opening ceremony. The kit includes a high-quality microphone, fill light, and a portable tripod, specifically designed to achieve "professional function democratization" and "complex feature simplification." During the FamilyLens Workshop, attendees experienced the convenience of the equipment firsthand. Many expressed that the kit truly solves many problems, enabling ordinary families to complete necessary filming without specialized photography knowledge.
Social Impact Screening Program
The 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival is open to the public from December 6th to 14th. The festival opened with the screening of well-received documentary: K-Family Affairs. In addition to the competition section, the festival features several distinctive sections, including the Reframing Home Movies— An Italian Retrospective, Youth Film Program, Filmmaker in Focus, and the Social Impact Program. Four major awards, such as the Real-Life Portrait Award and the Artistic Exploration Award, will also be presented.
As a key component of the Co-Creation Initiatives, the SmallRig Image Development Fund partnered with the FamilyLens International Film Festival to curate the "Social Impact Screening Program." This unit focuses on elevating awareness of critical issues within the family unit, advocating for a new reflection: "Starting with Seeing, Concluding with Understanding."
Arum Nam, Director of K-Family Affairs, stated:
"Starting with the stories of your family, your friends, and yourself, I believe this personal narrative can connect directly to the bigger society."
SmallRig believes that truly meaningful social impact storytelling stems from awareness in proximity—achieved by using the lens to penetrate the daily surface and enabling a deep, empathetic "Seeing with Empathy."
The four featured works in this unit are:
- People of the Ascent
- Granny's Lost and Found
- Ruixi at Fourteen
- No Country For My Maternal Grandma
These films highlight four family issues that require "seeing": the yearning of left-behind children, the mental isolation of Alzheimer's patients, the elderly searching for subjectivity in their drifting lives, and the emotional volatility and struggle of Bipolar Disorder.
Strategic Outlook and Future Expansion
SmallRig will continue to support the Family Filmmaking Co-Creation Initiative's deep development through promotional campaigns and practical workshops focused on family movie scenarios.
The overall goal of SmallRig's Global Co-creation Initiative is to continuously explore and meet the growing, diverse needs of global creators across different vertical domains. SmallRig is committed to persistently expanding the co-creation model into more imaging sectors, collaborating with industry partners to push the boundaries of imaging and grant global creators broader creative freedom.
About SmallRig
Founded in 2013, SmallRig is an innovation-driven global company that designs and manufactures comprehensive support solutions and accessories for all content creation needs. Trusted by over four million creators globally, SmallRig pioneered the User Co-creation Design (UCD) philosophy and the DreamRig Program.
For more information, visit: www.smallrig.com.
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
SmallRig and FamilyLens Launch Global Family Filmmaking Initiative at 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival
SmallRig and FamilyLens Launch Global Family Filmmaking Initiative at 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival
SmallRig and FamilyLens Launch Global Family Filmmaking Initiative at 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival
