Surveys, Offshore Energy Inspections Leverage Autonomous Technology
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, more capable USVs that are available can deploy an ROV as well, so they can do the bathymetric hydrographic survey as well as the geophysical survey. You can do more with one vehicle, and you can use it to extend the range of manned vessels while reducing costs and emissions.”He cites Fugro’s Blue Essence USVs which have been used alongside traditional crewed vessels. They can act as a "force multiplier" offshore or handle survey tasks in shallower water close to shore.XOCEAN acts as a global ocean data delivery partner, providing full scope geophysical, geotechnical and environmental data. (Source: Midgard Infra)Another example of the growing sophistication in autonomous systems that Lewis describes is OceanAlpha’s new 24-meter-class V180 USV–ROV system which is designed to support deep and offshore subsea operations. It integrates a DP2-enabled offshore USV with a work-class ROV for subsea inspection, maintenance, and repair missions. The USV features a dual-moonpool configuration and an open deck layout suitable for flexible deployment of a wide range of mission modules.The system supports subsea operations at depths of up to 3,000 meters and offers an endurance of up to 30 days, while allowing rapid transition between deep-sea engineering, subsea surveying, and oceanographic research missions. Additionally, operators can control both the USV and the deployed ROV from an onshore control center.Saipem is hitting the 3,000-meter mark with its most advanced AUV, Flatfish, which has now undergone functional acceptance tests with Petrobras. FlatFish has been developed as part of Saipem’s underwater robotics program aimed at industrializing a family of underwater robots capable of performing complex, autonomous inspection tasks.Throughout the tests campaign, Flatfish executed multiple fully autonomous inspection missions including structure and pipeline inspections, cathodic protection measurements and wall‑thickness assessments. Following the positive tests outcome, Petrobras has been able to grant approval to proceed with the final phase of the project which aims at the full implementation of FlatFish in the ultra-deep waters of Brazil.This HUGIN AUV can operate at depths of up to 6,000 meters, collecting high-resolution data. Photo Credit: Jørgen Ramse Vadla | Norwegian Petroleum DirectorateNavigation ability is critical to these advances, and Sweden’s Njord Survey has chosen Sonardyne navigation technology for its ecoSUB Robotics AUVs. Using Sonardyne’s smallest navigator, SPRINT-Nav U, on ecoSUB’s low-logistics AUVs, Njord Survey is expecting that deployment at scale will enable parallel operations, reducing vessel dependency, logistics, cost and time. Combining detection and verification and allowing re-tasking, with the same easily transportable platforms, also means surveys can be delivered faster and more flexibly, without compromising data quality.Iain Vincent, Director & General Manager, at ecoSUB Robotics, says, “With SPRINT-Nav U providing reliable, survey-grade navigation into our one-person-portable AUVs, we’ve been able to move from standard, off-the-shelf designs to a more engineered, project-focused approach. This means creating vehicles that can carry high-quality payloads, operate independently and adapt to evolving customer needs. Together with Njord survey, we’re transforming small AUVs into scalable, primary survey platforms.” Eni and Fincantieri subsidiary IDS – Ingegneria dei Sistemi have partnered on the commercialization of Clean Sea, Eni’s proprietary underwater robotic system designed to monitor marine ecosystems and subsea infrastructure. The agreement initially focuses on inspection work for subsea carbon capture and storage projects. Clean Sea is based on hybrid ROV/AUV system that can be used in remote-controlled form, from a support vessel or in fully autonomous mode.The system incorporates interchangeable modular payloads which combine instruments and sensors tailored to specific monitoring and inspection tasks—including water sampling, detailed visual analysis and 3D acoustic reconstructions. The technology will be integrated with various autonomous platforms developed by Fincantieri to broaden its scope into other applications and to allow for scale-up of production volumes.Clean Sea is Eni’s proprietary underwater robotic system designed to monitor marine ecosystems and subsea infrastructure. Image courtesy ENIEndurance is a critical consideration for subsea cable installation, and Exail Technologies announced an order in April for its transoceanic DriX O 16 USV from OMS Group, an international civil player in digital infrastructure and subsea cables. The order follows an initial acquisition made in 2025, and it will be deployed for survey missions related to subsea cable installation, including bathymetric surveys, route verification and the monitoring of telecommunications infrastructure. It has an operational endurance of up to 30 days and a range of approximately 3,500 nautical miles. The DriX O 16 can be supervised remotely from an operations center in Singapore.The robotic options continue to grow. Bubble Robotics has received pre-seed funding for the development of its fleet of intelligent robotic systems capable of operating continuously at sea for months, without the need for human intervention. Today, says CEO Jean Crosetti, offshore operations rely on vessels, crews and heavy equipment costing up to $100k per day. Yet, the industry faces a structural workforce shortage, with 600,000 additional professionals needed by 2030 in the energy sector alone.Bubble’s thesis is simple: offshore operations should not require humans at sea. Instead of episodic, vessel-based missions, Bubble deploys resident autonomous systems that stay at sea for 24/7/365, continuously inspecting, monitoring and collecting data.“Today, 80 to 90% of offshore inspection costs come from vessels and crews,” said Crosetti. “By removing that dependency, we unlock a step change in cost, safety and operational frequency. What used to be episodic becomes continuous.”Advances in robotics, edge AI, and satellite connectivity have reached an inflection point, he says. For the first time, it is possible to deploy persistent, autonomous systems at sea that can perceive, decide and act with minimal human oversight.OceanAlpha’s new 24-meter-class V180 USV–ROV system integrates a DP2-enabled offshore USV with a work-class ROV.Image courtesy Ocean Alpha