AI in Pilotage

Philip Solaris is Chief Executive Officer of Obsidian Systems and X-craft Enterprises, New Zealand companies building robotic air and sea craft for persistent, difficult-to-solve problems.

With more than 25 years of experience, Philip leads a team of problem-solvers who take robotic solutions from proposal through design, construction and deployment. X-craft Enterprises, which he founded in 2010, applies unmanned systems, custom hardware and software to real-world challenges, including field testing and client training. In 2025 he established Obsidian Systems to manufacture and commercialise these platforms, with X-craft providing dedicated in-house R&D.

His work spans conservation, fisheries protection, search and rescue, emergency management and civil aviation. Projects have included post-cyclone damage assessment in Vanuatu for the World Bank, a wildlife-tracking system developed with the World Wildlife Fund, long-range autonomous operations for fisheries protection with Niue, LTE-enabled air traffic control for unmanned aircraft with Airways New Zealand, and autonomous sea craft for NIWA. X-craft has also operated on a not-for-profit basis for several humanitarian and environmental projects.

Philip has delivered 15 conference presentations, including keynotes in the UK and New Zealand, and holds two patents. He has advised the New Zealand Government on the military use of AI, and is a past member of the International Advisory Board on Unmanned Aerial Systems for Search & Rescue (UK) and a founding member of UAVNZ. His recognition includes the 2016 WWF Innovation Award and 2022 funding from MBIE’s Endeavour Fund and the Department of Conservation’s Tools to Market Fund. He also founded the NZ Robotic Systems Network and the Hydra Project Consortium.

Alexander Richter is a Professor of Human-Centric AI and founding Director of Huanui, the University of Auckland Business School’s AI Initiative. He studies how people and AI can work together to improve performance, preserve human values and build organisational capability. He develops value-centric frameworks that help organisations work out not just what AI can do, but what it should do. A proponent of engaged scholarship, he has advised governments and organisations on three continents.

Daniel Jackson is an Associate in the Marine and Transport team at Wotton Kearney. He has experience across a wide range of legal and regulatory issues relating to the sea, including in the areas of maritime, fisheries, resource management, Treaty of Waitangi and customary rights. He is a member of the Environmental Law Committee of the New Zealand Law Society, the New Zealand Branch Committee of the Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand, and the Nelson-Marlborough Branch Committee of the Resource Management Law Association. He has published a number of articles in legal journals and presented at various conferences.

Gogo (George) Ntor is a doctoral researcher at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). His research examines the legal and ethical regulation of autonomous vessels and autonomous decision-making in maritime governance. He has both teaching and practice experience in law and is interested in advancing policy and regulatory frameworks for emerging maritime technologies. His doctoral thesis asks who is accountable when an AI system advises, recommends or acts at sea, and how maritime law can keep human judgement and safety at the centre as autonomy advances.

Tom Greig is Chief Executive Officer of North Tugz Ltd and an experienced Marine Pilot operating in Whangārei Harbour. His maritime career spans harbour towage, pilotage, stevedoring and port management, providing him with a broad understanding of both the operational and commercial aspects of the maritime industry.

North Tugz provides harbour towage and pilotage services to Northport, Channel Infrastructure and Golden Bay Cement. Tom is a member of the Nautical Institute, New Zealand Maritime Pilots’ Association and the New Zealand Company of Master Mariners.