
Bosch Rexroth Presents "Disruptive" Electric Subsea Valve Actuator
Bosch Rexroth said Monday it would present "a disruptive innovation" for electrically actuating valves in the subsea process industry at Hannover Messe (April 12-16, 2021). "The new SVA R2 Subsea Valve Actuator is the world’s first electric actuator that can replace conventional hydraulic cylinders with field-proven safety technology and without taking up additional space," Bosch Rexroth said."The integrated electric controller offers precise motion control. Thanks to condition monitoring and a safety spring, the SVA R2 satisfies Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 3

RENEWABLE ENERGY: Smart Power Buoy - Wave Power Expands Recharge at Sea Possibilities
From powering sensor systems to recharging autonomous vehicles to feeding the power grid, Resen Waves is making step changes in the renewable wave power market. Roland Boysen, CCO, discussed the technology and the potential with MTR.While generations of innovators have attempted, to varying degrees of success, to harness the tremendous renewable power potential of waves, the Danish company Resen Waves contends it is able to do just that, in a scale to remotely power sea-based instruments and vehicles, and eventually all the way up to entire cities.The Resen Waves Smart Power Buoy is designed to

Tampnet Buys BP's Offshore Fiber Cable System in Gulf of Mexico
project – adding 300km to the existing 1200km of fiber and connecting an additional 2-3 deepwater assets. Tampnet’s infrastructure build-outs typically also include 4G/5G LTE coverage - providing a wireless extension of the fiber connectivity and allowing access for drilling, subsea and marine operations around the fields. "Additional LTE coverage from Tampnet also means improved welfare and safety in the Gulf of Mexico. AT&T subscribers can now use their regular subscriptions offshore at no extra cost and with no limitations on data speeds. This includes the recently launched

Divers Find Deepest Known Shipwreck USS Johnston
; at sea,” Vescovo, a native Texan added, “but in this case the defenders—unbelievably—won.”Expedition leader Kelvin Murray (EYOS Expeditions) commented, “This was a real team effort requiring the individual skills of everyone onboard. Our EM-124 sonar, Triton Submarine’s unlimited depth submersible, a highly practiced team and some excellent sonar and navigation support all combined to enable a successful outcome. With this system we could locate, investigate and film wrecks at any depth in any ocean; it is a fantastic tool.”The submersible DSV Limiting

Solar-powered USV Delivered to Mississippi State University
to the open ocean in the Gulf.”“Increasingly customers’ missions have grown in complexity requiring a range of sensors, and they’re looking for less costly, less resource-intensive and more flexible solutions to carry out a variety of tasks simultaneously in challenging marine environments,” said Buddy Duncan, Co-Founder, SeaTrac Systems. “We are pleased to help the MSU team achieve its real-time monitoring and data-collecting goals.”The SP-48 is designed for users who require a flexible data gathering and communications platform that adapts to a wide

Beneath the Waves: Keep Your AUV Safe by Docking Subsea
waters. As there is such a vast Canadian coastline needing to be monitored, new thinking is required to find the best solution. Having a USV and AUV working together could be it.First stage testing was to dock while still on the surface to prove the system works. Photo courtesy International Submarine Engineering LimitedAcoustic and Visual Tracking“Range 26 meters. On acoustics.” Jason, one of ISE’s electrical engineers, breaks the silence on the bridge of Researcher. He has just received the first data packet from the AUV. It has successfully acquired the dock’s acoustic

Fiber Optic Sensing and Mining an Ocean of Data
, not least across our oceans, where existing cables could offer a new global sensing network. Elaine Maslin reports.Criss crossing between our nations, across channels and between continents are a multitude of cables – some 120 million km of them. Some are pretty old (the first international submarine cable was laid across the Channel, between the UK and France, in 1850). But many laid since the 1980s contain fibre optics and provide the conduits for everything from those YouTube cat videos to stock market data.An increasing number of researchers are now hoping that they can also use these cables

SUBSEA TECHNOLOGY: Underwater Acoustics Pick up the Tempo
, demonstrates the curiosity and capacity of our exploratory efforts. While our achievements in outer space exploration pile up, there is still much work to be done here on Earth—particularly in our oceans. To date, about 80% of the world’s oceans remain unexplored and only 7% are designated marine protected areas (MPAs). The depth of our oceans comes with many setbacks to “seeing” the deep sea in a traditional sense—zero visibility, freezing temperatures and crushing levels of pressure. But what about creating an auditory image?During recent decades, progress in subsea exploration

UK Royal Navy Developing Surveillance Vessel to Protect Critical Subsea Infrastructure
who will conduct research to help the Royal Navy and Ministry of Defence protect our undersea critical national infrastructure and keep our lives and livelihoods secure from threat," the ministry said."Undersea cables are vital to the global economy and communications between governments. Submarine warfare presents a particular risk of sabotage to undersea cable infrastructure – an existential threat to the UK," the ministry added.According to the statement, the ship will be fitted with advanced sensors and will carry a number of remotely operated and autonomous undersea drones which

Fleet of Ocean Robots, Buoys, Set for Deployment Off Plymouth
What has been described as a first-of-its-kind multi-million-pound fleet of innovative and interconnected marine technologies is soon set to be deployed off the coast of Plymouth, UK, according to Plymouth Marine Laboratory, a marine research institute.An 8.5-meter-tall Autonomous Data Buoy featuring a set of onboard sensors will soon be deployed offshore as part of Smart Sound Plymouth’s plan to create a world-leading proving ground for high-tech marine innovation."Smart Sound Plymouth stretches over more than 1000km2 of ocean from sheltered bays to hostile offshore waters, providing an

Remote Control: ROAM enables Remote Fusion 2 Survey Ops in the GOM
Sonardyne reports successfully providing remote Fusion 2 survey operations capability on a live subsea construction campaign in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.Using its new Remote Operations Access Module (ROAM), Sonardyne surveyors based in the UK were able to remotely access and operate the Fusion 2 survey and construction software onboard Subsea 7 vessels in the Gulf of Mexico, significant from the Sonardyne perspective as it de-risks the upgrade to Fusion 2, mitigating international travel restrictions road blocks.Fusion 2 is designed to streamline offshore field development operations by reducing the

Investment Made in Subsea Cable Network on the U.S. East Coast
Confluence Networks LLC tody announced that MasTec Inc. (NYSE: MTZ) has acquired an equity interest in Confluence, a Florida-based developer of undersea fiber-optic communications systems. The investment will allow the company to complete development and construction of Confluence-1, the first undersea cable system dedicated to linking strategic global communications nodes on the East Coast of the United States, including: New York, NY; Miami, FL; Virginia Beach, VA; and Jacksonville, FL; and opening a new strategic node in Myrtle Beach, SC.The Confluence -1 network addresses the lack of availability

VideoRay ROVs Protect Busy Ports and Waterways
Port security and surveillance, mine countermeasures and underwater search and rescue are all dangerous missions that should no longer put lives or vessels at risk. Where sustained, mission critical underwater inspection or exploration is required, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are the safest and most effective way to maintain security, support salvage efforts and uncover secrets of the ocean.Video-equipped ROVs can reach hard-to-access underwater locations at extreme depths for extended periods. To be effective, ROVs require a robust, high-density power delivery network (PDN) that enables the

Wave Energy Device to Power Subsea Oil & Gas Equipment. Tests Start in July
UK-based wave power technology company Mocean Energy, and subsea battery developer EC-OG have teamed up with Chrysaor, Modus, OGTC, and Baker Hughes to fund the demonstration of a wave-powered renewable energy system for running subsea equipment. The companies have invested £1.6 million into the program.The program will demonstrate how wave power coupled with subsea energy storage can be used to cost-effectively lower the carbon footprint of providing power to subsea oil and gas production equipment and autonomous underwater vehicles.Grant funding provided by OGTC has been matched by

Blue Logic Launches New Company, Subsea USB
Norwegian subsea technology company Blue Logic has created a new company, Subsea USB AS, to provide its underwater inductive connectors to the subsea industry. The product rights, technology and patents of Subsea USB’s connectors were previously jointly owned with the Kristiansand-based Wireless Power and Communication (WPC AS). All assets within the product area have been transferred to Subsea USB, which will focus on sales, marketing and further development of its growing range of underwater inductive connectors. Subsea USB may also accelerate further development of its technologies

MacArtney Develops Advanced Telemetry System for Jasco Underwater Listening Stations
Years of development culminated in a MacArtney telemetry concept measuring and transmitting individual noise profiles for complex acoustic data tracking to help preserve and recover one of Canada's most iconic species - the Southern Resident Killer Whale.Under the Canadian Species at Risk Act, the Southern Resident Killer Whale was recently concluded to be facing an approaching threat to survival and recovery. At Boundary Pass in the Salish Sea, an enhanced monitoring project provides an underwater sound picture of the Southern Resident Killer Whale's habitat, consequently rendering the most

C-Power to Demo Sabertooth AUV with SeaRAY Autonomous Offshore Power System
and Coastal Trident 2021 program testing and strategic partnerships with government and commercial organizations, C-Power looks to demonstrate how the SeaRAY AOPS can fill the maritime market’s immediate need for offshore power, energy storage, and real-time data and communications for resident marine systems

Subsea Defense: Navy Deepens Commitment to Underwater Vehicles
interaction.The most recent edition of the Navy’s Unmanned Systems (UxS) Roadmap was issued in 2018, and a new version is expected in the near future. The 2018 document states that UxS will operate in every domain; always be an option; and be at their best when teamed with Sailors and Marines“UxS will strengthen naval power at, on, and from the sea by reducing operational risk and cost. UxS operating in the air, on the surface, under the sea, and on shore as a rapidly adaptable and interconnected network will provide access to areas denied to manned platforms, provide better situational

Autonomy: Inside the Building of Ocean Infinity’s Armada Fleet
made a novel move; deploying six autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), instead of just one, from a single vessel, vastly increasing the ground that could be covered in a single survey. Now the firm is taking the use of remote, robotic systems a significant step further.As we enter 2021, US-UK based marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity is launching the start of what will become a fleet of completely uncrewed ocean going vessels, or USVs. They will host and deploy other robotic systems, including remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and AUVs, as well as towed systems and full ocean depth survey equipment

New Recordings of Ultrasonic Seal Calls Hint at Sonar-like Abilities
of bottom time before our hands get too cold to work. Then we make our way back to the dive line. Its flags and blinking lights guide us to our one and only way out.During my deployment to Antarctica in 2018, I participated in 40 such dives to help maintain the McMurdo Oceanographic Observatory. Polar marine biologist Paul Cziko installed the 70-foot-deep, seafloor-mounted recorder in 2017. Known affectionately as “MOO,” it resembled R2-D2 in both looks and charm. For two years, MOO successfully sent continuous audio, video and ocean data back to our onshore lab via cable connection. It also

No Need for Mothership: Kongsberg Launches HUGIN Endurance AUV
or a wind turbine fitted with an MBR antenna," Kongsberg Maritime said."For defense applications, HUGIN Endurance makes persistence a reality. Whether it is long-range military survey; wide-area mine detection, classification, and identification; or even patrolling a chokepoint listening for submarines, this new extended-range capability offers new solutions to existing and future challenges," Kongsberg maritime said.Image credit: Kongsberg MaritimeAccording to the company, HUGIN Endurance can be equipped with a wide array of sensors including the high-resolution KONGSBERG HiSAS synthetic

Autonomous Navigation – with or without GNSS
current optimally without GNSS significantly reduces the risk of performing ROV and AUV deployments from USV host platforms.A good example of this is the Armada fleet, being built by Ocean Infinity. The first wave of the fleet will host our Ranger 2 Ultra-Short BaseLine (USBL) positioning system and Marine Robotics pack, which will enable all-in-one tracking, communications and control capability for underwater payload robotics from the Armada vessels. In addition, the vessels will be fitted with SPRINT-Nav, to provide continuous, uninterrupted navigational aiding to underpin safe remote operations

EvoLogics Releases SiNAPS 2 Acoustic Positioning Software
EvoLogics released SiNAPS 2, an upgraded underwater acoustic positioning software.Rebuilt from scratch, it comes with a more powerful and efficient data engine with improved positioning accuracy. The updated user interface and intuitive workflows allow for easier onboarding and system integration.SiNAPS 2 isupports USBL, LBL, and advanced hybrid positioning methods. The software is designed to be intuitive and fast to configure even for complex scenarios and comes with built-in system calibration tools. With SiNAPS, it is possible to manage multiple databases and maintain separate data sets. Automation

Fugro Taps Sonardyne for Its Uncrewed Vessel Ops
positioning and communications technology from Sonardyne to support its global fleet of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). Fugro will integrate Sonardyne’s Mini-Ranger 2 Ultra-Short BaseLine (USBL) positioning system, configured with the company’s Marine Robotics software extension pack, into its new 12 m-long Blue Essence USV, of which the first vessel will be delivered to Fugro’s base in Perth in February.“The integration of Sonardyne’s positioning system into our unique remote inspection offering, which combines the Blue Essence

Unmanned Vessel Launched to Survey Western Galveston Bay
An unmanned vessel is now surveying more than 3,500 nautical miles of the Western Galveston Bay, near the Houston Ship Channel.DEA Marine Services, a division of David Evans and Associates, Inc. (DEA), in Vancouver, Wash., equipped its survey boat Sigsbee with a Sea Machines Robotics SM300 autonomous-command and remote-helm control system to fulfill a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) contract.Sigsbee, which is serving as an autonomous daughter craft for the project, is effectively doubling coverage by operating without an onboard crew, while collaboratively following another

ORE Catapult taps Oceanspace Communication for PR Services
The UK’s Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult Selects Oceanspace Communications for Public Relations & Campaign SupportSpecialist maritime and offshore PR firm joins new team tasked with elevating the British businesses, people and technologies leading the charge against global warmingThe Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult has appointed Oceanspace Communications to its new Public Relations, Graphic Design and Filmography Framework Agreement to provide Public Relations & Campaign Support services. The Bournemouth-based agency joined the new framework this month, following a nationwide

Inmarsat Milestones: 10k Ships with Fleet Express Installed, 'Fleet Data Academy' Launched
Ship data consumption is booming, and as digitalization and data trends increasingly drive the maritime world, Inmarsat celebrated a pair of milestones, hitting the 10,000 vessel mark on Fleet Xpress installations and launching its "Fleet Data Academy."Traffic DoublesAccording to Inmarsat, the growth in Fleet Xpress now includes the world’s leading container ship and tanker owners, such as MOL, K-Line and Hapag-Lloyd, offshore support giants like Bourbon, Tidewater and Maersk Supply, as well as growing numbers of yachts, passenger ships and fishing boats. While COVID-19 has, and

WHOI Appoints Douglas C. Webb as Oceanographer Emeritus
spark of inquisitiveness and creativity is contagious, and we strive to follow the advice that he gave to Rutgers students after the first Slocum glider Atlantic Ocean crossing – 'Work hard, have fun, and change the world',” said Clayton Jones, Senior Director of Technology, Teledyne Marin

New Study Finds Polyester Fibers Throughout the Arctic Ocean
The Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern communities that rely heavily on seafood and marine mammals for food.But who would have imagined that the clothes we wear might add to this onslaught? Evidence increasingly shows that tiny synthetic fibers are permeating the Arctic Ocean and finding their way into zooplankton, fish, seabirds and marine mammals.In a new study published in Nature Communicati

Valeport Debuts new SWiFT CTD Profiler
The new SWiFT CTD is the next generation of Valeport’s SWiFT profiler range, designed to deliver enhanced accuracy and versatility.The SWiFT CTD profiler from Valeport is designed to provide survey-grade sensor technology coupled with the convenience of Bluetooth connectivity, rechargeable battery and an integral GPS module to geo-locate each profile.The SWiFT CTD features a new fast response temperature probe and operates down to 500m as standard, delivering directly measured Conductivity, Temperature and Depth. In addition to the directly measured CTD, computed Salinity, Density and

Reach Subsea Working on Unmanned Surface Vehicles for ROV Ops Support
, as shared by Reach Subsea:•Dedicated unmanned, self-propelled remotely and autonomously operated ROV mother vessel of approx. 25 m overall length. •Robust maritime and subsea equipment with high reliability and long maintenance intervals •Onshore control room facilities for both marine and ROV operations •Semi-autonomous ROV for survey and inspection tasks •Hull-mounted survey sensors •Optimised hydrodynamic properties for excellent data acquisition and subsea positioning performance •Focused on ROV operability in an extended weather window vs. peers 

Sonardyne Suite for Dive Technologies’ AUV
control of its large displacement DIVE-LD autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) program.Founded in 2018, Dive Technologies’ rapid development program has included support from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and technology partnerships with organizations including the Center for Marine Autonomy and Robotics at Virginia Tech. A key part of the development has been to opt for high-performance, off-the-shelf systems for its DIVE-LD AUV, a 19-ft. long, 48-in. diameter vehicle designed for operations down to 6,000 m water depth. It is currently in production in the U.S. with sea testing

Teledyne Marine Introduces New Ultra Compact Acoustic Modem
Teledyne Marine announced the launch of its new Ultra Compact Modem (UCM). At 60 by 50 millimeters, and weighing 55 grams, the OEM version of the UCM is the smallest acoustic modem ever designed by Teledyne Benthos.The UCM is based on Teledyne Benthos’ signal processing technology to address the need for reliable wireless underwater acoustic communications onboard the growing number of autonomous micro vehicles and other subsea instruments. As the size of these micro vehicles continues to decrease, Teledyne Marine has responded with lightweight, low power, proven sensors and systems to expand

Putting Power on the Seabed: Edging towards a Subsea Powerhouse
wind power and even hydrogen into the offshore energy mix.Subsea transformers could be used as gathering stations for offshore wind power, reducing platform maintenance, says Mæland. Having subsea power distribution could also support seabed mining operations and the increasing move to autonomous marine systems, which would need power. Integrating batteries and offshore wind would need subsea control systems, and this is something ABB is also working on.Photos from ABBSiemens close to qualifiedAnother JIP was run by Siemens Energy to deliver 6 MVA of power over 200km and distribute it locally, is

US Navy Helps Small Companies Engage with Experimentation
execution by offering beginning-to-end facilitation, mentoring, and training in all aspects of experimentation,” said Scott Bartlett, the DoN SEC program manager,Naval experimentation can validate or inform concepts of operations, operational plans and doctrine, and ultimately how the Navy and Marine Corps fights. The magnitude and focus of naval experimentation events range from small limited technology demonstrations to large scale naval exercises. “Finding a fit and function where small businesses can insert their technologies and prove their warfighter capability is extremely challenging

What's In Store for 2021? More Remote, More Data, More Autonomy
Late 2018, before net-zero targets had been agreed to by most western energy giants and nations, BP came out with a goal to reach 100% of subsea inspection by marine autonomous systems by 2025.It was a tangible goal then, and it’s one that might now be reached faster as remote and more “digitally” oriented operations take hold with greater opportunities for new nimble players in the market. It’s a goal being chased in the offshore wind sector too.Some of it is about emissions targets. Starting in 2019, the growing mass of pledges to net-zero targets by nations, upstream companies

NASA’s JPL Using Teledyne Marine APEX Profiling Floats
Teledyne Marine announced the recent sale and deployment of three APEX profiling floats to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The three floats were equipped with RBR CTD sensors, Short-Burst-Data for communication over the Iridium Satellite Network, and special parachutes for air deployment. The rise in global sea levels will be a major environmental challenge for the 21st Century. For this reason, it is of increasing importance that we improve our methods and understanding for predicting this process. A recent major initiative to do this has been led by JPL Scientist

Sonardyne's Sensors for Ocean Infinity's Armada USV Fleet
Ocean Infinity, a U.S. based marine survey firm developing the world's largest fleet of unmanned surface vessels - Armada - has ordered Sonardyne sensors for its robotic vessels.As reported previously, Ocean Infinity in February launched Armada, a marine technology and data company boasting the industry's largest fleet of unmanned surface vehicles (USV).Sonardyne said Wednesday it would provide the first wave of Ocean Infinity’s new Armada fleet with key sensor technologies for underwater platform navigation, tracking, control, and communications, as well as ensuring uninterrupted

50 Years from Now: Perspectives from Marty Klein
"50 Years From Now" was published in the Oceanology International 50th Anniversary Edition published by Marine Technology Reporter. Here we present insights from one of the legends in the field, Martin Klein. (*Editor's Note: This was written prior to the COVID-19 pandemic)Martin Klein Looks Back:“When I started my business, I had no background in management and I would seek help from people I admired. One of the things I wrestled with was if and how to make long range plans. At a lunch at one of the ocean conferences I asked one of my mentors his thoughts about long-range plans.

New Project Aims to Revolutionize Ocean Observations and Measurements
; Technologies for Ocean Sensing – will pioneer five new sensors, two imaging systems, a novel sampler and an artificial intelligence-driven image processing methodology, all capable of robust operations at depths beyond 2,000 meters.TechOceanS will actively engage with scientists, manufacturers, marine stakeholders and resource managers to target “Essential Ocean Variables” that currently can only be measured by observations from a ship. The new technologies developed in the project will enable the capture of vital, previously inaccessible data on the ocean’s biogeochemistry,

INTERVIEW: RDML John Okon, Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command
NOAA and Naval Oceanography use unmanned systems similarly to collect similar data sets, we do it for very different reasons with very different mission sets. A great example is acoustics. NOAA uses acoustic sensors (like hydrophones) primarily in their fisheries and climate groups. They are monitoring marine mammals, detecting seismic activity, and using it for law enforcement for public consumption. Naval Oceanography collects acoustic information to understand how ambient noise impacts sound pathways through the ocean to enable undersea warfare. CENOTE better postures Navy and NOAA to reduce costs

Autonomous Offshore Power Trials Get Underway off Hawaii
with a pair of powerhouses: the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. NavyInitially conceived during a U.S. Department of Defense project, the SeaRAY AOPS is designed to provide in-situ power, energy storage, and real-time data and communications support that is intended to advance the marine economy toward a future of autonomous, connected and resident technologies. It is designed to support unmanned offshore activities, including subsea vehicles, sensor packages, and operating equipment.“The ocean is a power desert,” said Reenst Lesemann, CEO of C-Power. “Providing

Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg Tech: RDT&E's Annual Arctic Technology Evaluation
The Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) teamed up with Coast Guard Cutter Campbell’s crew this summer to evaluate five technologies as part of the RDC’s annual Arctic Technology Evaluation. The Campbell crew conducted the evaluations during their two-month deployment supporting joint Arctic operations off Greenland’s western coast, returning to their Kittery, Maine, homeport on Sept. 29, 2020.“Testing various technologies by cutter crews for operation in cold and Arctic environments provides highlights on what works and what may need improvement, and can help

MIT Studies Underwater Navigation Powered by Sound
New approach could spark an era of battery-free ocean exploration, with applications ranging from marine conservation to aquaculture.GPS isn’t waterproof. The navigation system depends on radio waves, which break down rapidly in liquids, including seawater. To track undersea objects like drones or whales, researchers rely on acoustic signaling. But devices that generate and send sound usually require batteries — bulky, short-lived batteries that need regular changing. Could we do without them?MIT researchers think so. They’ve built a battery-free pinpointing system dubbed Underwater

Overwatch: Advancing NATO’s Maritime Situational Awareness via Commercially Available Space-based Assets
a Gordian Knot of threatening events and generates mismatches between what an adversary expects you to do and what you actually do. This makes your adversary feel trapped in an unpredictable world of doubt, mistrust, confusion, disorder, fear, panic and chaos. As former Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Charles C. Krulak stated in his analysis of the Gulf War that “The Iraqi army collapsed morally and intellectually under the onslaught of American and Coalition forces. John Boyd was an architect of that victory as surely as if he’d commanded a fighter wing or a maneuver

Seabed Imaging Re-imagined
accidents. The end result for either method is usually extensive, lengthy post-processing on the vast amounts of gathered data.A new, 3D deep-sea imaging system, developed by the University of Southampton, with support from Sonardyne, under the Natural Environment Research Council’s OCEANIDS Marine Sensor Capital “BioCam” program, has gone a long way to resolving these challenges.During its first 24-hour deployment, a BioCam fitted to an Autosub6000 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), from the UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC), mapped more than 50 times the area of

Hydromea Launches LUMA X, Wireless Underwater Optical Modem
Hydromea launched a new patent-pending subsea wireless communication modem LUMA X. The LUMA X can beam data using light at up to 10 Mbit/s with a 120-degree cone. With that, the LUMA X enables real-time streaming of HD-quality video and 4K images wirelessly through water – allowing the operators of autonomous underwater vehicles to monitor its interventions from the comfort of its control rooms onshore.“The wide-angle beam gives subsea vehicles connecting via the LUMA X a lot of freedom of movement,” said Felix Schill, co-founder and CTO of Hydromea. “The small size of the

Significant Dredge Monitoring Network for OSIL
Environmental monitoring systems manufacturer Ocean Scientific International Ltd (OSIL) said it has been awarded a contract for the international supply of a network of dredge monitoring buoys.The Tern buoy hull design incorporates a stainless steel sub frame with a moon pool for instrument protection, and its modular manufacture makes the buoy easy to ship and assemble on-site following delivery. The 12 buoys are set up to communicate via Iridium Short Burst Data (SBD) with an onboard Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) option to further reduce operational costs when the buoys are moved

A look inside Emily Penn’s eXXpedition
Emily Penn is an ocean advocate and co-founder of eXXpedition. As an artist, skipper and marine explorer, she is leading the world's newest crew of superheroes: those dedicated to saving our planet. Born and raised in England, Penn grew up sailing and was trained as an architect at the University of Cambridge—a career that would pan out very differently than she imagined. Today, with 12 years of action and outreach under her belt, Penn takes an approach to solving our ocean crises that emphasizes collaboration, community and commitment, all bolstered by her passion, hope and energy towards

In a First, ROVOP Inspects Offshore Installation via Video Link
UK-based ROV services provider ROVOP has said it has delivered its first remote platform-based inspection, repair, and maintenance workscope, "effectively reducing the number of personnel required offshore," on Premier Oil's Balmoral floating production vessel in the UK North Sea.The ROV company carried out remote visual and NDT inspections of hull sections, flowlines, umbilicals, and risers, along with chain inspection, measurement, and cleaning, on the Balmoral unit with the help of a live video stream."Using the latest communications and modeling technology, ROVOP worked closely

VIDEO: Purdue Working on Mobile Docking Station for AUVs
in your living room. “An autonomous vacuum, like a Roomba, does its vacuum cleaning, and when it runs out of battery, it autonomously returns to its dock to get recharged,” she said, “That’s exactly what we are doing here, but the environment is much more challenging.”Once a marine robot submerges in water, it loses the ability to transmit and receive radio signals, including GPS data. Some may use acoustic communication, but this method can be difficult and unreliable, especially for long-range transmissions. Because of this, underwater robots currently have a limited range

Acoustic Data launches high-expansion Retainer with Integrated Acoustic Telemetry
Acoustic Data has developed a new slickline deployed high expansion retainer for cement and metal alloy plug and abandonment (P&A) applications. In the case of new-generation metal alloy plugs, the HEX-Retainer can be integrated with the company’s SonicGauge Plug Verification System (PVS) for real-time long-term barrier integrity monitoring purposes.The SonicGauge PVS uses wireless communication in the form of acoustic telemetry to transmit downhole pressure measured below the barrier to surface, or alternatively, in deep-set applications, to a SonicReceiver unit that can be permanently

Hydramec's LARS for Fugro's Uncrewed Surface Vessels
Offshore surveyor Fugro has ordered a Hydramec launch and recovery system for its new uncrewed surface vessels recently ordered from Sea-Kit.Fugro, based in the Netherlands, in August ordered two 12-meter SEA-KIT X class uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), with one bound for their Asia-Pacific region and the other for North Sea operations.The first of the 12-meter SEA-KIT X class USVs is expected to be delivered to Fugro in Perth, Australia, in the fourth quarter of 2020 and will feature remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) launch-and-recovery systems and station-keeping

Ocean Startup Challenge Awards 14 Companies $25K Each
airboats for inland and coastal water monitoring and surveying applications. Their boats are built to be simple and straightforward to operate, easy for users to customize with add-on equipment, and reliable in operation.Kavacha.ca (Canoe Cove, PE) uses fish waste to provide active protection to marine industries through direct-to-metal coatings in harsh environments. Their solution saves users more than 30% on material and labor, while increasing or maintaining asset lifetime, reducing toxin exposure/imprint, and providing a high-volume value add for a fishery waste stream.Marecomms Inc. (Halifax

Four HUGIN AUVs for the Indian Navy
Kongsberg Maritime sold four HUGIN AUV systems to the Indian Defense Public Sector shipyard Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE), located in Kolkata, India. This sale was conducted in collaboration with Kongsberg Maritime India, a subsidiary of Kongsberg Maritime.The purchase, which also includes HiPAP 502 high-accuracy acoustic positioning and communication systems to support AUV operations, will be installed on the four Large Survey vessels currently in build for the Indian Navy. GRSE Chairman and Managing Director Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Vipin Saxena said: “We are

Subsea Technology and the New Routes to Residency
Efforts to increase remote capability often go hand in hand with increasing ROV residency. But exactly what form residency takes is diverging. Elaine Maslin takes a look.Dial back the clock five years and there was a movement towards an idea dubbed subsea resident remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). The idea, in simple terms, is that you increase ROV availability and reduce cost and carbon emissions by having the vehicle permanently based subsea in underwater garages. A number of vehicles could even cover a cluster of fields, potentially with different owners who can dial up, on demand, a vehicle when

Vehicle Launch: Riptide UUV-12 takes BAE Systems into Medium UUV Sector
BAE Systems unveiled the newest addition to its unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) portfolio, the RiptideTM UUV-12, a 12-inch diameter vehicle is the company’s entry into the medium UUV market.“The Riptide UUV-12 system significantly extends the Riptide family of UUVs by taking us into the medium UUV market,” said Jeff Smith, chief scientist at BAE Systems’ FAST Labs research and development organization. “With this medium-size platform, we are strategically aligning our modular, open architecture-based UUV platform to meet rapidly expanding applications and requirements.

Charting Terradepth's Big Ambitions in the Unmanned Vehicle Space
Kauffman, with a mission to increase seafloor mapping rates economically and to create a business based on the data it gathers.Terradepth CEO Joe Wolfel.An ocean data challengeTheir focus came from personal experience, specifically the collision of the USS San Francisco – a nuclear powered submarine – with a seamount at flank speed in 2005. While they were deployed in Iraq at the time, it was big new. “How does the US navy not know there's a mountain underwater? That idea stuck in our heads,” explains Wolfel. They did a little digging and discovered that 70% of the earth

Inspired by Adélie penguins, EvoLogics Presents its new PingGuin AUV
EvoLogics recently introduced PingGuin, an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) with low-drag bionic design. The vehicle was developed as part of the MUM (Modifiable Underwater Mothership) collaborative R&D project and was first demonstrated in Kiel, Germany, in June 2020.Outstanding hydrodynamic properties of a penguin’s body became the starting point for the AUV design within the NaviMUM subproject, assigned to EvoLogics. One of the EvoLogics co-founders, Dr. Rudolph Bannasch studied Adélie penguins and the effectiveness of their locomotion since the 80s, undertaking several field

Ocean Startup Challenge Shortlists 31 Companies for Prize
the shortlisted companies having ocean technologies in the earliest stages of development,” said Don Grant, Executive Director, Ocean Startup Project. “Another 19 shortlisted companies applied with working prototypes.”The shortlisted solutions involve environmental monitoring, reducing marine mammal entanglement in fishing gear, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, technologies to reduce corrosion and biofouling, networks of sensors and analysis tools, sustainable bait alternatives, vision systems, underwater communications and IoT networks, value-added by-products, fish health

Teledyne CARIS AI Software Used in Uncrewed Offshore Survey
Teledyne CARIS, a Teledyne Technologies company, said it was an integral part of the team involved in a recent uncrewed offshore survey mission in the Atlantic Ocean. Teledyne CARIS’ Mira AI and CARIS Onboard software were present on the vessel to enable autonomous survey and real-time processing operations.The mission’s uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) built by SEA-KIT mapped over 1,000 square kilometers of the ocean floor in 22 days, while being continuously monitored via satellite communications at its Remote Operations Center in Essex, U.K. A specialized team comprised of the GEBCO-Nippon