Key Takeaways

• MetriCal significantly reduced Saronic’s calibration burden in production, helping achieve faster throughput as the company scaled from one boat per week to one boat per day

• Direct access to the Tangram team with MetriCal Enterprise has unblocked key engineering tasks, like multi-spectral calibrations in production

• Calibration is now a foundational aspect of the entire production line

The Mission

The autonomous maritime industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years as defense and commercial applications demand increasingly sophisticated sensor systems. Autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) require precise multi-sensor calibration to operate safely and effectively in challenging ocean environments. For companies scaling from prototype to production, establishing robust calibration workflows becomes a critical challenge that can make or break deployment timelines.

Saronic Technologies is building the future of maritime defense with autonomous surface vehicles designed to operate in the world's most demanding environments. Based in Austin, Texas, the company develops ASVs equipped with sophisticated sensor arrays that require precise calibration for reliable autonomous operation.

As Pablo Smith, a Senior Systems Engineer who oversees reliability for Saronic's fleet, explains the scale of their calibration needs: "When we started, we were building one to two boats a week. By the end of this year, we need to be building one each day."

This dramatic production ramp presented a fundamental challenge: how to scale calibration from a manual, time-intensive process to an automated system that could keep pace with manufacturing output while maintaining the accuracy required for production-critical autonomous systems.

"The biggest difference between [Tangram Vision] and most other vendors... is just your willingness to help. I think that’s what truly sets you apart as a company."

- Pablo Smith, Senior Systems Engineer

Scaling Up

For Saronic, traditional calibration approaches weren't viable. Manual processes that might take hours per vehicle simply couldn't support production rates exceeding one vehicle per day. The team needed calibration infrastructure that could deliver:

• Speed: Calibration workflows fast enough to avoid becoming a production bottleneck

• Accuracy: Sub-millimeter, sub-degree precision for safety-critical autonomous navigation

• Scalability: Systems that could handle increasing production volumes without degradation

• Reliability: Tools that worked consistently in field conditions, not just controlled lab environments

Saronic began their relationship with Tangram Vision over a year ago, becoming one of the company's first Enterprise customers. The decision to pursue an Enterprise agreement rather than a usage-based model was driven by the need for unlimited calibrations, direct technical support, and the ability to deploy calibration systems both in their production facility and in field locations.

Pablo recalls the factors that made Tangram Vision stand out: "Obviously there's a lot of technical brilliance and problem-solving going on, but to be honest, a lot of companies can do that. It’s how they interface with the customer, and how willing they are to be there for the customer, that makes the difference."

Getting Hands On

For the Saronic team, evaluating calibration solutions wasn't just about reviewing product specifications; it required deep technical engagement to ensure the tools could handle their specific multi-spectral sensor configurations and production requirements.

Through development, Saronic found that their unique sensor system required engineering beyond the usual calibration procedures. The cameras mounted to every vessel couldn’t be calibrated with off-the-shelf solutions, and the technical talent needed to build scalable processes could be better used elsewhere on Saronic’s core competencies. 

To remedy this, they brought in the Tangram Vision team for on-premise technical support and consultation. This collaboration led to a calibration solution that could handle their multi-spectral sensor suite with ease, including unique target encodings designed specifically for their system. In turn, Saronic’s intensive use of MetriCal helped harden the software for production-ready use on the line.

Building Trust Through Collaboration

A key differentiator was Saronic's direct access to Tangram Vision's engineering team through a dedicated Slack channel, which eliminated the typical vendor support queue and enabled real-time technical discussions. Treating customer calibration challenges as first-class engineering priorities proved invaluable as Saronic ramped production.

"We just want to move quickly and make sure everything gets out there, and that means we need a good calibration that we can rely on."

- Joseph Fox-Rabinovitz, Perception Engineer

With MetriCal Enterprise established as their calibration platform, Saronic turned their attention to workflow automation and integration with their broader production systems. Rather than treating calibration as an isolated process, Saronic worked to integrate MetriCal into their broader production and monitoring infrastructure. This included:

• Audit trails: Connecting MetriCal's real-time detection feedback to their existing monitoring dashboards

• Automated workflows: Reducing manual intervention in the calibration process through scripted data collection routines

• Quality metrics: Establishing automated pass/fail criteria based on MetriCal's calibration reports

• Standard Operating Procedures: Ensuring that production technicians who might not have deep expertise in multi-sensor calibration could successfully execute calibration workflows.

Scaling Success

While specific performance metrics remain proprietary, MetriCal has enabled Saronic to successfully scale from 1 vessel a week to 1 vessel a day. On top of that, using MetriCal reduced manual intervention in calibration workflows, and built confidence in calibration accuracy for safety-critical autonomous operations.

As Saronic continues to scale production and expand their autonomous surface vehicle capabilities, calibration infrastructure remains a strategic enabler. The flexibility of MetriCal Enterprise, including unlimited calibrations, offline deployment capabilities, and direct engineering support, positions Saronic to continue accelerating without calibration becoming a bottleneck.

Joe Fox-Rabinovitz, a Perception Engineer at Saronic, summarized their operational philosophy: "We just want to move quickly and make sure everything gets out there, and that means we need a good calibration that we can rely on."