L3Harris Expands RI Facility to Service USN Contract
L3Harris Technologies announced plans to expand in Ashaway by investing $1.5 million in its operations. The company will add more than 40 positions and increase its manufacturing space to 92,000 square feet.The L3Harris facility develops and manufactures technology the U.S. Navy uses in submarines for surveillance and detection. The expansion will support the Navy’s recent contract award of $31m for L3Harris to build next-generation towed sonar systems for submarines.L3Harris’ Ashaway location has provided undersea sensor systems since 1991, including the TB-29C and TB-34A towed array
OSIL, URI Collaborate on Research Project
The University of Rhode Island (URI) had a recent requirement for two oceanographic buoy systems and land-based deck unit for ongoing oceanographic research under the Rhode Island Consortium for Coastal Ecology Assessment Innovation & Modeling (RI-CAIM), a five-year grant program funded by the National Science Foundation (Award #OIA-1655221). Researchers have requested systems that can use a new array of sensors and equipment, called the integrated Bay Observatory, that has already been acquired by URI through RI C-AIM. The data from this platform will be sent back to a computer system
Valeport Promotes Frankland
Valeport promoted Guy Frankland to Head of Marketing, as it targets market leadership in the environmental sensors sector. The internal appointment of Frankland, former marketing manager, marks the latest step in the strategic growth plans for Valeport, a leading oceanographic, hydrographic and hydrometric instrument manufacturer.With more than 20 years’ experience in strategy, brand and digital marketing, Franklandjoined Valeport in 2018 and has been responsible for overseeing a comprehensive refresh of the brand that has served the subsea sector for more than 50 years, supporting Valeport&
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.
Airmar Debuts Chirp-Ready Cavity Mount Transducer
Airmar Technology introduces its CM510L Cavity Mount Transducer, a 3 kW Chirp-ready transducer with low frequency (25-50 kHz) Chirp capabilities.Ideally suited for commercial fishing applications where bottom discrimination and target resolution of bottom-fish species are critical to success, the CM510L includes the popular 28 kHz, 38 kHz and 50 kHz fishing frequencies, plus all other frequencies in the band.“We wanted to develop a comprehensive transducer for commercial fishing,” said Jennifer Matsis, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “The CM510L delivers the most popular
EcoLight AZFP Buoy to Monitor Light and Under-Ice Zooplankton
. This satellite link is bi-directional allowing for the downloading of data as well as the ability to reconfigure instrument parameters remotely.Others involved in this project include Dr. Lovro Valcic (Bruncin Observation Systems); Dr. Julienne Stroeve (University College London); Dr. Michael Karcher (Ocean Atmosphere Systems—OASys); Dr. Hauke Flores (AWI); Dr. Gaëlle Veyssiere (BAS); Dr. Marcel Nicolaus (AWI); Dr. Frank Kauker (OASys); Dr. Mario Hoppmann (AWI) and Dr. Joo-Hong Kim and Dr. Eun-Jin Yang (Korean Polar Research Institute—KOPRI).AZFP zooplankton sensor in its frame
Kraken Robotics Makes It to Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 List
Canadian subsea robotic and sensor company Kraken Robotics has made it to Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 list in Canada.Technology Fast 50 is a program that celebrates the achievements and evolution of the Canadian technology sector.Kraken, which last year launched a three-year project focused on the development of new marine technologies and products to enable an underwater data acquisition and analytics as a service business, ranked 36th on Deloitte's list.According to the company, Kraken was one of only two Atlantic Canada companies that made the Top 50 list – and the only one from
Shell, Ocean Infinity on Uncrewed Seep Hunting Mission
Oil and gas giant Shell has teamed up with offshore robotic ship operator Ocean Infinity to combine expertise and assets to execute multiclient seep hunter projects."The combination of Shell’s specialist seep hunting expertise and Ocean Infinity’s ‘Armada’ fleet of robotic ships, will provide effective location targeting and wide-scale coverage. In turn, this will culminate in more reliable results, improving the focus of exploration work with fewer risks and environmental impacts," Ocean Infinity said Wednesday.Ocean Infinity’s Armada fleet, which will become
SeaRobotics Launches Utility Class ASV
like the SR-Utility 3.0, which offers a modular approach to set-up, intuitive interfacing, and—thanks to a shared common Uni-Cab architecture—the option of modular upgradeable expansion to multi-ASV deployments,” Dennis said.One of the first confirmed contract awards is from CSA Ocean Sciences, a U.S.-based marine environmental consultancy firm that already uses a number of other SRC ASV models on large-scale environmental, hydrographic and geospatial survey projects.Speaking of the order, CSA CEO, Kevin Peterson, said, “We are excited about the addition of the SR-Utility
New Project Aims to Revolutionize Ocean Observations and Measurements
International ocean technology experts from the U.K., Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Spain are uniting to develop a range of new in-situ sensing, imaging and sampling technologies that will improve our understanding of the chemistry and biology of the ocean under a new project being coordinated by the National Oceanography Center.Funded by a €8.9 million ($10.5 million) grant from the European Union's Horizon 2020 program, TechOceanS – Technologies for Ocean Sensing – will pioneer five new sensors, two imaging systems, a novel sampler and an artificial intellige
INTERVIEW: RDML John Okon, Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command
Recently the United States Navy and NOAA signed an agreement to jointly expand the development and operations of unmanned maritime systems in the nation’s coastal and world’s ocean waters. RDML John Okon, Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, shares his insights on the direction and pace of the use of unmanned maritime systems for the Navy’s future.How and when you realized that yours would be a career dedicated to Oceanography?Interesting, I never started out to have a career in Oceanography, but rather in Broadcast Meteorology. At NY Maritime College
Autonomous Offshore Power Trials Get Underway off Hawaii
, 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 reliable power and real-time data communications through an AOPS is critical to unlock the full potential of the marine economy. The SeaRAY delivers these capabilities and enables a future of cheaper, safer, cleaner
Unmanned Marine Systems, Squared
Unmanned platforms and underwater vehicles have been providing new ways for ocean scientists to study the ocean in more detail and over longer periods. What happens if one can deploy the other?The advantages of unmanned systems deploying others are multiple, not least in our expansive oceans. Deploying a glider (down to 1,000m) using a wave-propelled unmanned surface vessel (USV) means data can be gathered together over long periods at far flung locations without the need for a crewed research vessel to deploy either system, which can be hard to get slots on, let alone funding.But then, what if you
Kraken Robotics Wraps Third OceanVision Survey Campaign
Canadia subsea robotic company Kraken Robotics has completed its third offshore data acquisition and technology demonstration campaign as part of the $19 million OceanVision project.During the campaign, Kraken deployed its new SeaScout system which consists of Kraken’s KATFISH towed synthetic aperture sonar, the Tentacle winch and Autonomous Launch and Recovery System (ALARS) to conduct ultra-high-definition seabed imaging and mapping in Atlantic Canada.The campaign took place from September 21 to October 18 and included the mobilization and integration of Kraken’s KATFISH system onboard
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
Partners Team Up to Develop Utility Class ASV
CSA Ocean Sciences Inc. (CSA) and SeaRobotics Corp. (SRC), both based in Stuart, Fla., are working together to jointly develop the next generation utility class autonomous surface vessel (ASV).Based on the fully integrated SR-Surveyor M1.8 ASV, introduced by SRC in 2019, the new utility class ASV will deploy the same fully integrated control, survey, and autonomy systems, providing the market with a fully compatible line of ASVs that are capable of addressing a wide range of tasks – from 1.8 m inshore/nearshore vessels to over 12 m ocean going vessels.The SR-Utility 3.0 and SR-Surveyor M1.
Submersible Linear Position Sensors for Offshore Drilling
NewTek Sensor Solutions offers new, custom designs of Submersible Linear Position Sensors constructed of special alloys with chemical resistance to water in depths exceeding 15,000 ft or more and with external pressures up to 20,000psi. NewTek Subsea and Marine Sensor designs are used for measuring the strain on mooring chains that keep ships or platforms stationary and monitoring structural movement and elongation of pipelines, derricks and structural components of an oil platform to a fraction of a microstrain. Position measurements ensure the drilling platform doesn’t shift to more than
Stealthy Submarine Concept Unveiled
vision. The French-based company said its naval architects considered operational needs expressed by its customers seeking to invest in systems that will remain technologically superior over the 30 to 40 years of ships’ lifecycles.On the horizon of 2040, in a context of permanent surveillance of oceans, navies will have to navigate in increasingly complex environments. The objectives for submariners will be to operate freely, to share information safely and to be able to act firmly and swiftly, Naval Group expects.With these considerations in mind, the SMX31E has been engineered as a stealthier
General Dynamics Mission Systems Wins $13.5 Mln Navy UUV Contract
General Dynamics Mission Systems said it was recently awarded a $13.5 million cost-plus fixed-fee and cost-only modification for continued engineering support, development, test and production of the Knifefish Surface Mine Countermeasure (SMCM) Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV). This award is a modification to the original contract, bringing the post-milestone C phase of the effort to $62.1 million since September 2019.Knifefish SMCM is a medium class mine countermeasure UUV intended for deployment from the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship and other Navy vessels of opportunity. Knifefish SMCM will reduce
Pipeline Inspection with Fast(ER) Results
Finland’s Rocsole is hoping to provide operators with better, faster insight into their pipelines through a new compact inline sensor and a large dose of data analytics. Its inspection tool uses electrical tomography and digital signal processing to measure conductivity and permeability values within a pipeline. These are then analyzed to determine the content – fluid and solid – of pipelines or vessels, such as separators.The technology has had the backing of Shell, who are trialling the Deposition In-Line Inspection (DILI) in a 12 in. water pipeline in Brunei in October to detect
Barcodes to Drive Down Pipeline Inspection Costs
Three French companies are working on a pipeline inspection solution that combines ROVs and the use of visual markers - barcodes - directly integrated on subsea pipelines.The solution, being developed by tubular solutions firm Vallourec, smart robotics and visual positioning start-up Forssea Robotic, and subsea positioning and inertial navigation firm iXblue, promises to drive down the costs of subsea pipeline inspections.According to the companies involved, the solution would remove the need for surface vessels, traditionally used in pipeline inspection projects.Usually, surface vessels with acoustic
Xerox and DARPA Partner to Develop IoT Ocean Sensors
PARC, a Xerox company, announced Thursday it has been awarded a contract by the U.S.' Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the next development phase in the Ocean of Things, a project to expand what scientists know about the seas.Initially announced by DARPA in 2017, the Ocean of Things project is deploying small, low-cost drifters in the Southern California Bight and Gulf of Mexico to collect data on the environment and human impact. This includes sea surface temperature, sea state, surface activities and even information on marine life moving through the area.“Oceans cover
Overwatch: Advancing NATO’s Maritime Situational Awareness via Commercially Available Space-based Assets
“All the business of war, and indeed all the business of life, is to endeavour to find out what you don’t know by what you do”Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonIt is hard to get past headlines painting the portrait of a world besieged physically and economically by a medical crisis on a global scale and a nation that has turned the national spotlight onto the fundamentals of its constitutional democracy, including the persistence of racism, the right to protest and the character of local and national security forces in the United States. Lost in this this mass media reporting
Seabed Imaging Re-imagined
, while also processing the gathered data within expedition time-scales, has been delivering promising results. BioCam project participants Geraint West, Adrian Bodenmann, Darryl Newborough, and Blair Thornton explainIt’s often said that we know more about the surface of the moon than our own ocean floor – despite half the moon being permanently hidden from our gaze. The challenges involved in imaging these two environments are uniquely different. Imaging the seafloor, in a detailed and repeatable way to allow for meaningful monitoring, poses a dual challenge: being able to cover large
Ultrabeam, USS team up to deliver Autonomous Pipeline Survey
Ultrabeam Hydrographic teamed up with Unmanned Survey Solutions (USS) to conduct a pair of subsea gas pipeline inspection surveys in Northern Ireland. Both companies are based in the UK and offer unmanned platforms as an alternative to traditional manned survey vessels. The contract was awarded by Mutual Energy, which wanted experience on how unmanned autonomous platforms can increase the knowledge of their pipelines while reducing risk and overall cost."Mutual Energy contracted with Ultrabeam Hydrographic in August 2020 to perform inspection surveys of our Larne and Belfast
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
C-Innovation Orders Sonardyne Tech for ROV Ops in Brazil
Marine services company C-Innovation (C-I) has ordered a package of Sonardyne’s underwater positioning and navigation systems to support its operations offshore Brazil.Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) on board six ROV support vessels (RSVs) in the country will be equipped with Sonardyne inertial, gyrocompass and Doppler technologies, as well as hybrid acoustic-inertial systems.C-I has ordered SPRINT inertial navigation systems (INS), a Lodestar attitude and heading reference system (AHRS), Syrinx Doppler velocity logs (DVLs) and Sonardyne’s hybrid acoustic-inertial underwater vehicle
The Case for 3D Printing Downhole Tools
Advanced design software supports growth of additive manufacturing applications in the oil and gas industryAdditive manufacturing (AM, aka 3D printing) is beginning to impact product-development strategies in the oil and gas industry just as it already has in many other industries—by shifting the production paradigm in unexpected ways.Particularly in the case of downhole tools, overall tool size is compatible with the range of part dimensions that today’s AM systems are capable of manufacturing. Consider a common piece of equipment on any oil and gas rig: the tricone drill bit. Required to
Hugin AUV Scores 2020 AUVSI ECELLENCE Awards
, producing imagery and bathymetry with better than 5 x 5cm resolution. “Winning a top-three placing in this AUVSI XCELLENCE award category is not just a welcome vindication of the HUGIN Superior AUV’s abilities, but also of its implications as a key ally in the ongoing custodianship of our oceans,” says Richard Mills, VP Marine Robotics Sales, Kongsberg Maritime. “In addition to the assistance it will provide to various organizations in support of the Seabed 2030 mission to map every inch of the ocean floor within the next decade, the detailed data it accumulates is indispensable
Hacking 4 Environment: Oceans - Creating Entrepreneurs from Scientists and Students
The University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) and the University of California San Diego (UCSD) recently completed a first-of-its-kind course that had student teams working to develop creative solutions to complex challenges facing our oceans – and the results are a reminder of the value in trying new approaches.In the 10-week classes, held over spring quarter, 50 students grouped into teams of four used agile entrepreneurial approaches (Lean Startup method and Problem Curation techniques) to address an ocean-related problem that could use a new solution.Student teams experienced what it is
VIDEO: Barcode Tags Could Cut Subsea Pipeline Inspection Costs
A pipeline inspection solution combining subsea drones and the use of visual markers - barcodes - on the pipelines themselves could drive down the costs of subsea pipeline inspections.The solutions is being developed by tubular solutions firm Vallourec, smart robotics and visual positioning start-up Forssea Robotic, and subsea positioning and inertial navigation firm iXblue.According to the companies involved, the solution would remove the need for surface vessels, which are traditionally used in pipeline inspection projects.Surface vessels with acoustic positioning are traditionally used to monitor
Valeport onboard Mayflower Autonomous Ship project
MAS vessel will carry research pods for sensors and scientific instrumentation. Scientists coordinated by ProMare, with support from IBM, will use the data from the research pods to advance understanding in several areas including: maritime cyber security, marine mammal monitoring, sea level mapping and ocean plastics.Valeport uvSVX. Valeport’s uvSVX and VA500 Altimeter have state-of-the-art signal processing technology which provides stable, repeatable readings that deliver high accuracy data performance."We’ve worked with Valeport for many years, integrating their equipment onto
Subsea Technology and the New Routes to Residency
and in the US Gulf of Mexico. In August, Norway’s IKM Subsea reached a 100-day continuous subsea operations milestone with its tethered Merlin UCV R-ROV at the Snorre B facility offshore Norway, where it’s been based since 2018, along with a tool stand, supported by on and offshore staff.Oceaneering has been supplying ROV services through its E-ROV – an electric ROV deployed in a cage with batteries from which it can work for weeks at a time wherever it’s been put – while its Freedom ROV (more of a hybrid AUV/ROV) was expected to start untethered offshore trials in August
AUV Case Study: Marine Roboticists are Turning AUV Sight into Perception
In 2018, marine robotics scientist Arjuna Balasuriya was at the Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX) in Newport, Rhode Island, testing new software for an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). In the past, his AUV research had meant long ocean cruises in rough choppy waters, but for the moment, he was analyzing his algorithms from a comfortable dry seat on land.Balasuriya and his team from Charles River Analytics were developing an app for the AUVs made by Teledyne Gavia, which could navigate on their own in the oceans to take sonar surveys of the seafloor. But to be truly autonomous, they needed
Tracking Climate Change onboard SeaExplorer
An innovative tool for assessing the impact of climate change in the ocean: measuring pCO2 at sea with the SeaExplorer underwater gliderUnderstanding the ocean’s role in the global carbon cycle and its response to a changing environment is of crucial interest. The ocean is indeed known to be the only true net sink for anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) and without this oceanic uptake, atmospheric CO2 would be significantly higher today than what is currently observed. The impact of this ocean acidification can already be perceived and current projections suggest that those changes will persist
Valeport launches new sensors for subsea survey
Valeport launched two new sensors for ROVs/AUVs and subsea survey.The new miniIPS2 and new uvSVX, which both offer operationally specific interchangeable pressure transducers that deliver enhanced accuracy for specific depth ranges. These field-swappable sensor heads make it easy for users to select the correct pressure range for their work and offer increased accuracy at any depth, alongside streamlining benefits to users who previously required different instruments for shallow and deep water. The smart miniIPS2 underwater pressure sensor has an accuracy to 0.01%. Key to the design is the
Interview: RDML Gallaudet Steers NOAA’s Path Toward Uncrewed Maritime Systems
NOAA and the United States Navy recently signed a new agreement to jointly expand the development and operations of unmanned maritime systems in the nation’s coastal and world’s ocean waters. Headlining MTR’s Autonomous Vehicle Operations coverage this month is our interview with retired Navy Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D., assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and deputy NOAA administrator, for insights on the direction and pace of the use of unmanned maritime systems for NOAA’s future.When did you realize that yours would be a career dedicated to Oceanograph
Charting Terradepth's Big Ambitions in the Unmanned Vehicle Space
Ocean mapping at scale is the target of a new unmanned systems player started by two ex-US Navy SEALS. They have big ambitions, from new building unmanned vehicles to creating the intelligence that will drive them to changing how accessible ocean data is. Elaine Maslin learned more. The pace of change in the ocean mapping space has been fast in recent years. New entrants have come into the scene offering “force multiplier” mapping using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and unmanned surface vessels (USVs). Shell’s Ocean X-Prize challenged technology developers to come up
Gulf Copper Wins Contract to Refurbish NOAA's Henry B. Bigelow
a $3.9 million dry docking and refurbishment of the NOAA research vessel Henry B. Bigelow. The work will be performed at Gulf Copper's Galveston yard.Commissioned in 2007 and homeported in Newport, R.I., Henry B. Bigelow is a fisheries survey vessel that studies a wide range of marine life and ocean conditions along the U.S. East Coast, primarily from Maine to North Carolina. The ship's main mission is to study and monitor fish stocks, but it also conducts habitat assessments and surveys marine mammal and seabird populations.Launched in September 2005, the 208-foot Henry B. Bigelow was built
Ocean Startup Challenge Shortlists 31 Companies for Prize
After 158 applications flooded in for the Ocean Startup Challenge, the industry reviewers have shortlisted 31 companies to vie for 10 prizes of $25,000 and in-kind support from partners.“Applicants accepted our challenge by proposing creative solutions to solve industry hurdles, with more than a third of 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
Sensor Systems Improve Marine Navigation Near US Naval Bases
Maritime navigational safety near two U.S. Navy installations in Kings Bay, Ga., and Portsmouth, N.H. has been improved thanks to new Physical Oceanographic Real-Time Systems, also known as PORTS, installed by NOAA and the U.S. Navy. They are the first new PORTS in two years, and the 34th and 35th in the nationwide network.The system near Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, the East Coast home to America’s Ohio-class submarines, is an integrated series of sensors which will provide critical real-time information on oceanographic and meteorological conditions. This will increase the navigation safety
Applied Acoustic Launches New Subsea Positioning System
Applied Acoustic Engineering (AAE) has announced the launch of a new ultra-short baseline subsea positioning system, Pyxis USBL.AAE says the system is ideal for very shallow operations such as diver monitoring, for deeper applications where ROV’s and AUV’s might be deployed, and for tracking short or long-range towed sensors such as magnetometers and side scan sonars."The combination of AAE’s Sigma 2 acoustic protocols and SBG Systems high precision Navsight Apogee Marine INS brings together two leading names in the field of marine technology, resulting in AAE’s most
Kraken Wins Pair of Navy Contracts
Canada-based marine technology company Kraken Robotics Inc. announced Tuesday it has won a pair of contracts to supply mine-hunting equipment to the navies in Denmark and Poland.The firm said it signed a $27.3 million (CAD 36 million) contract with Danish Ministry of Defense, Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO) to supply mine-hunting sonar equipment to the Royal Danish Navy, and on September 1 it inked a deal to supply mine-hunting systems to the Polish Navy.The winner of a competitive bid process, Kraken will deliver its KATFISH towed Synthetic Aperture Sonar, Tentacle Winch and Autonomous
Partnering on the Digital Ship: Inside Denmark’s ShippingLab
When will the first fully digitized, autonomous and environmentally friendly ship be ready to sail? The answer is uncertain but the Danish Maritime Authority’s ShippingLab project aims to have most of the technical and managerial challenges solved in as little as two years from now. Tom Mulligan reports.Denmark’s ShippingLab project is a three-year initiative that commenced its work in March 2019 with the aim of developing the first fully commercially operational, fully digital, autonomous and environmentally friendly ship. There are almost 30 partners working together within ShippingLab
"World First": Remote In-water Ship Surveys via ROV
As COVID-19 continues to challenge many business plans and practices, the advent of remote inspection techniques is growing in popularity. What is reported to be the world’s first in-water remote ship surveys using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) have been completed by DNV GL.In-water bottom surveys using ROVs have now been carried out on three separate Wilson ASA-managed vessels with the first having been completed on the Wilson Fedje in December 2019 by a surveyor from Høvik. The survey was performed earlier in July on another ASA Wilson-managed vessel in Bergen, Norway. Elias Triantafy
Kraken Gets $3m Funding for ThunderFish XL Development
Kraken Robotics will receive a $2,909,891 non-refundable financial contribution from the National Research Council of Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP). The funding will be received over a 26-month project period and will be used to support the development of Kraken’s seabed resident ThunderFish XL Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (TFXL AUV).Building from the previous development efforts of the ThunderFish Alpha AUV, the ThunderFish XL AUV will be larger and with an increased depth rating, have a larger payload capacity and have longer mission endurance. Most importantl
R&D: Robotics Advances Inside the ORCA Hub
, navigate, station keep for the ROV and much more for the AUV that must process its sensor data to understand where things are around it, e.g. from a sonar, and adapt its mission plan when the unexpected happens. It has to do this onboard (at the edge) because communication links are so poor in the ocean, without a cable. Autonomous vehicles have no choice but to control themselves, therefore. Similar to autonomous cars, only the underwater community of roboticists have been developing these systems since seriously for over 25 years.”The Imperial College London drone demonstrating autonomous
USS Delivers Unmanned Surface Vessel to Tetra Tech
UK-based Unmanned Survey Solutions has delivered an Inception Class MKII semi-autonomous Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) to consulting and engineering company Tetra Tech.According to USS, the Inception Class MKII USV is a sensor agnostic, semi-autonomous Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) composed of tough aluminum hulls, weed cutting power propellers, and a versatile modular payload pod system. It has been designed to conduct survey operations in areas such as harbours, ports, lakes, lagoons, mining ponds and other shallow water zones. It can be operated by Remote-Control (RC) or as a semi-autonom
Robotics: Autobots Transform in the Offshore Energy Sector
Robots and robotics have slowly been entering our lives, in various shapes and forms (and fictional characters), from self-driving household vacuum cleaners to highly automated manufacturing systems. Now they’re heading for the offshore world – in just as many shapes and forms.There could be a lot to gain from robotics, but platforms and offshore wind turbine structures are also very challenging places to put them on. For oil and gas, key drivers are around safety and cost . For the offshore wind sector, the sheer volume of structures being installed is driving a push for robotic systems
Arctic Rays Debuts New Submersible Monitoring System
Arctic Rays, LLC has launched a compact submersible monitoring system for use in 1 atmosphere pressure housings.Designed specifically for manned submersible battery pods and electronics housings where immediate detection of leaks is critical, the monitoring system is suited for other applications as well.The 90.5mm x 51mm x 19mm single-board system monitors for ground faults, leaks and includes on-board barometric pressure, temperature and humidity sensors. The ground fault system monitors both poles of two independent DC busses up to 350V. The leak detection system can monitor up to eight
Ocean Influencer: Mike Read, Teledyne Marine
part of Teledyne Technologies Inc. Through acquisitions and collaboration, it has evolved into a powerhouse, with a large breadth of technology, including: vehicles, instruments, imaging, interconnect and seismic solutions. Here are some latest technology advances:Z-Boat 1800T, Trimble Edition(Teledyne Oceanscience)Teledyne Marine’s new Z-Boat 1800T ready for your next inspection or mapping project.The Z-BOAT 1800-T is a high-resolution shallow water hydrographic unmanned survey vehicle with an Odom Echotrac E20 Singlebeam Echosounder and dual antenna Trimble BX992 GNSS heading receiver. Each sensor
Ocean Influencer: Graham Hawkes, HAWX Open Ocean
The July/August edition of Marine Technology Reporter, the 15th Annual "MTR100", recognizes Graham Hawkes a subsea innovator, explorer, inventor and pusher of boundaries. A pioneer in the realm of ocean engineering, he’s designed and built more than 60 manned submersibles—everything from atmospheric dive suits to flying subs. As a test pilot, he’s maintained the deepest solo dive record for more than 20 years. He’s also the founder of HAWX Open Ocean LLC, created to design and build revolutionary marine technologies that enable undersea access to all.Inspired by
Ocean Influencer: Karl Kenny, Kraken Robotics
; Robotics as a Service (RaaS); Data Analytics as a Service (DaaS); Digital Twins – Karl Kenny and his Kraken Robotics team are embarked on a plan to grow, but it’s a growth trajectory that’s bigger than one company, one product, one service; it’s a growth trajectory as big as the oceans themselves. But make no mistake, while the product and service platform of Kraken continues to grow diverse, Kraken’s focus is laser sharp: build a complete vertical subsea platform, that is scalable, to help bring about meaningful change for all subsea industry stakeholders.Kenny is pushing
Fugro ROV Supports North Sea Link Cable Installation
Fugro has completed a contract for Nexans to provide remotely operated vehicle (ROV) survey and monitoring support services to lay the North Sea Link cable through a mountain and along a lakebed in Norway.National Grid NSN Link Ltd and Statnett SF are building an electricity interconnector between Kvilldal in Norway and Blyth in the UK which, on completion, will be the longest subsea interconnector in the world.Fugro, based in the Netherlands, provided survey and monitoring solutions to support the installation of two cables through the mountain between Hylsfjorden and Lake Suldalsvatnet, and along
Bennett Joins Kraken Board
Kraken Robotics Inc. announced that Cathy Bennett has joined the company’s board of directors.Bennett brings more than 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, business executive, and corporate director across private, public and non-profit entities. Her experience crosses multiple sectors including the government, energy, manufacturing, mining, restaurants, telecom, and technology sectors. Bennett was a Member of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador from 2014 to 2018 as well as Minister of Finance and the Status of Women. A seasoned corporate director, Bennett holds an ICD.
Fugro Orders Two SEA-KIT USVs
Dutch offshore surveying services provider Fugro has 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.Ivar de Josselin de Jong, Director Remote Inspection at Fugro, said, “This order cements Fugro’s strategy to lead the development of remote and autonomous solutions, which is key to delivering a safer, more sustainable and more efficient approach to the construction and maintenance of marine assets. Integration of the new USVs into our global network of remote operation centers (ROC)
Tech File: Hybrid-Electric Propulsion for Crew-less Vessels
The move to autonomy on the world's waterways is undeniable, with the direction clear, the pace hazy. What is clear is the need for reliable, fuel efficient propulsion, and last month Torqueedo announced a deal to provide hybrid-electric propulsion systems to power XOCEAN’s XO-450 USV, a custom-designed composite wave-piercing catamaran about the length of a typical automobile.XOCEAN is embarked on a mission to to transform the way subsea data is collected, and the three-year-old company based in Ireland provides turnkey underwater data acquisition services with its growing fleet of innovative
Halter Marine Wins US Navy Contract for the T-AGOS Program
Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder Halter Marine Inc. said Monday it has been awarded a contract for industrial studies for the auxiliary general ocean surveillance ship (T-AGOS(X)) program.The U.S. Navy awarded the $981,000 contract for the T-AGOS class series of vessels, which ultimately will replace the existing fleet of four T-AGOS 19 and one T-AGOS 23 small waterplane area twin hull (SWATH) ships, which are reaching the end of their service lives. The contract is for a 12-month study to perform trade-off studies and analyses of the Navy design.“We have designed, constructed and delivered more
Del Mar Oceanographic, RBR Ink Deal
Del Mar Oceanographic (DMO) and RBR signed a collaboration agreement for the provision of Wirewalkers with RBR CTDs and sensors in Australia and New Zealand.The DMO Wirewalker, originally designed at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, is a field-proven vertically profiling instrument platform powered by ocean waves. Attached to a free-drifting or moored buoy, the Wirewalker ratchets downward along a suspension wire under wave power. At a predetermined depth, the ratchet releases and the profiler then ascends at its terminal velocity (~0.5m/s), completely decoupled from sea-surface motion.
Quiet Seas Open Subsea Soundscape Exploration
The Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) has seized on the quiet brought about by the COVID-19 lockdown to map the underwater soundscape of the Belgian section of the North Sea.Using its AutoNaut USV research vessel, Adhemar, VLIZ has been able to record current noise levels, which will be compared with the marine soundscape once normal sea traffic and marine activities recommence, helping to better determine the impact of man-made noise on natural sea life and the marine environment.Following a 15% fall in shipping intensity in the North Sea since the start of the pandemic, VLIZ put its AutoNaut USV
