Greater vehicle sophistication is pushing surveys and offshore energy inspections further towards autonomy.When the Norwegian Offshore Directorate set its new HUGIN autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to work in June, there was a
Greater vehicle sophistication is pushing surveys and offshore energy inspections further towards autonomy.
When the Norwegian Offshore Directorate set its new HUGIN autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to work in June, there was a moment’s reflection on the fact that deep sea areas have actually been mapped since the 1800s. In the early days, simple weights were used to measure water depth and give the first indications of subsea structures and seabed morphology. There have been substantial technological developments since then.
Philip Lewis, Director of Research at Intelatus, has been analyzing the latest AUV and unmanned surface vessel (USV) developments in the offshore energy sector, including the increase in data-as-a-service deals for specific projects rather than long-term robotics ownership. For example, XOCEAN acts as a global ocean data delivery partner, providing full scope geophysical, geotechnical and environmental data to support offshore development and operations.
Simplicity is also making way for more complex, project-focused solutions. “In commercial applications, if you're deploying a small system, it may only be able to do one function, let's say bathymetric survey. You may need two or three passes to complete the survey, along with other vehicles to get the complete picture. Now, some of the bigger,
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