ACUA Ocean and Forssea Robotics have completed trials combining an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for fully remote subsea inspection and light intervention operations off Plymouth in
ACUA Ocean and Forssea Robotics have completed trials combining an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for fully remote subsea inspection and light intervention operations off Plymouth in the UK.
The three-week campaign paired Forssea's 170-kg ARGOS ROV with ACUA's USV Pioneer, completing more than 40 deployments with launches, dives and recoveries commanded remotely from shore.
The integration, carried out under a contract with the European Space Agency, included operations in two-meter waves south of the Plymouth breakwater, with no impact on the ROV, according to the companies.
Over six days at sea, the partners completed as many as eight launch-and-recovery cycles in a single day. The ROV reached and inspected the seabed in more than 20 meters of water and operated with up to 35 meters of tether deployed.
Testing included an inspection of the Poulmic wreck, a seabed feature and a concrete target block in Cawsand Bay. Operations were also conducted in one-meter waves with winds averaging 18 knots and gusting between 20 and 30 knots.
Sonardyne's Mini-Ranger 2 USBL system installed on Pioneer tracked a WSM6+ transponder on ARGOS, while manual and dynamic-positioning station keeping were used to hold the ROV on task.
The
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