Remotely Operated Vehicles: Thinking out of the Box
All electric systems are starting to free companies from the traditional strict form factors that ROVs traditionally take. With a more flexible modular harness, vehicles can be built from standardised building blocks. Saab Seaeye, a firm well versed in all-electric vehicles, has been making noises in this direction, using the smarts it’s been developing for the Sabertooth for new electric vehicles.Another firm looking to enter the resident vehicle space is UK-based subsea machinery firm SMD. During Offshore Europe, it launched its Quantum EV ROV. While the Quantum EV ROV made the headlines
Environmental DNA Emerging in the Ocean Science Community
perform qPCR unattended, while submerged. The instrument was commercialized and is now available from McLane Research Laboratories. This instrument, while functional, is larger and challenging to deploy.More recently, a new version of the ESP has been developed for use aboard an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). In 2009 MBARI initiated an effort to re-engineer the ESP to fit on the long-range AUV, a novel AUV developed there. The new instrument, like its predecessor, was designed for both select sample analysis and sample preservation. Unlike its predecessors, however, the new ESP design concept
Kongsberg Develops New LARS for HUGIN AUVs
Norway's Kongsberg Maritime has developed a new LARS (Launch and Recovery System) solution for its HUGIN range of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), which it says will bring "a series of far-reaching operational improvements."Kongsberg has decided to have the new LARS operating from midships, with the release and capture of HUGIN marine robots occurring beneath the sea surface."Launching and recovering AUVs underwater, away from the splash zone, lessens the possibility of their being damaged, while midships deployment averts any likelihood of AUVs being run over by the launch
Stinger Prepping Kawasaki's SPICE AUV
Japanese industrial giant Kawasaki Heavy Industries has contracted the Norwegian underwater drone specialist Stinger, to help it test its prototype AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle).Stinger said last weekend that it would provide Kawasaki with services related to planning and preparing site testing of an AUV equipped with a robot arm for performing subsea pipeline inspections."The underwater intervention drone is based on a fusion of submarine technologies and industrial robot technologies fostered in-house over many years in Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd," Stinger said.The preparation
SubSeaSail G6 Platform Passes the Test
The Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) along with logistical support from the US Navy successfully tested their SubSeaSail G6 platform at multiple coastal sites off the Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. Remote sensing applications for monitoring underwater unexploded ordnance were demonstrated by mounting a passive filter assembly to the G6 platform to detect explosive compounds in the water. Additionally, a water quality sensor was mounted to monitor other water quality parameters including temperature, salinity, depth, and turbidity. During
HII Completes Hydroid Acquisition
global markets.The acquisition of Hydroid, based in Pocasset, Mass., expands HII’s capabilities in the rapidly growing autonomous and unmanned maritime systems market. Hydroid will become part of HII’s Technical Solutions Unmanned Systems business unit that now includes unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) such as the Orca extra-large UUV that is produced in partnership with Boeing as well as Proteus, a large, dual-mode UUV operated out of Panama City, Fla. With the addition of Hydroid, HII now has capabilities in the medium and small UUV space from the REMUS and Seaglider autonomous underwater
MBARI Works at Unlocking Ocean Biology
Greater understanding of what goes on in the ocean is starting to become a reality – thanks to growing use of unmanned surface and underwater vehicles and developments in biological sensing. Elaine Maslin takes a look at what a team at MBARI has been doing.Gathering biological data from the oceans remains a significant challenge for oceanographers. Now, an increasing range of unmanned vehicles that are able to work together is becoming available, as is an ability to collect biological data using them.It sounds straight forward, but traditionally the collection and processing of biological
Amman Mineral Orders Forum ROV for Subsea Mining Support
Indonesian mining firm Amman Mineral has ordered an ROV from Forum Energy Technologies to support its mining operations at Indonesia's second-largest copper and gold mine.Forum Energy Technologies said Friday that, under the order, it would supply one of its observation-class remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), to be deployed at Batu Hijau on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia, for subsea mining operations. The Sub-Atlantic brand Super Mohawk II ROV system will be equipped with two five-function manipulator arms for complex underwater procedures. The new asset will replace the company&rsquo
Nido Robotics Debuts Two Underwater Drones
Nido Robotics has launched Sibiu Pro and Sibiu Nano underwater drones. Sibiu Pro and Sibiu Nano underwater drones offer a new degree of precision, flexibility and convenience to sectors ranging from aquaculture to search & rescue. Nido Robotics' CEO and co-founder Roy Torgersen was engaged on a dive in 2012 in Papua New Guinea to locate the wreckage of a downed USS Dakota plane. The thought occurred to him that deep-sea missions of that nature, often conducted in extreme conditions, would be made substantially easier and safer with the use of suitably adaptable, affordable and
Fugro, Sea-Kit in Uncrewed Surface Vessel Team-Up
Dutch offshore survey company Fugro has teamed up with SEA-KIT, winner of the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, to develop a new range of agile and compact uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) which can deploy remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for marine asset inspections. Fugro and SEA-KIT plan to accelerate the development and use of uncrewed vessels, remotely operated from Fugro’s remote operations centers, to improve safety, efficiency, and reduce the environmental impact on marine activities. The new range of USVs will consume up to 95 % less fuel than
Modern-Day Mayflower Sets Sail Ahead of 400th Anniversary Voyage
Four hundred years after the Mayflower crossed the Atlantic from Britain to the United States, a group of engineers plan to have a crewless-ship also named the Mayflower, navigate itself along the same route.The voyage is due to begin in September and the new Mayflower could become the first full-sized, fully autonomous vessel to cross the Atlantic, organizers IBM and marine research group Promare say.The original Mayflower ship transported 102 British settlers from England to America. They would become the first pilgrims to land there.A hull designed in the Polish port city of Gdansk set off by road
Ocean Infinity’s Hunt for the Submarine San Juan
acoustic signal and reduce the ellipse. It showed the submarine had dropped in water deeper than 100m, which meant it was beyond the recoverable water depth.The search, however, continued and Ocean Infinity was brought in. Since the firm started operating in 2016, disrupting the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) space by deploying multiple AUVs from one vessel on search or survey missions, the company has made a name for itself in a number of international search efforts.Ocean Infinity committed to conduct the search operation for up to 60 days and to covers its cost, unless the submarine was found
Kongsberg Upgrades Its Multibeam Echosounder
Kongsberg Maritime has released two new state-of-the-art features on its EM 2040 MKII multibeam echosounder. The first enables the use of dual high frequencies to survey wide swaths of the seabed at much higher resolutions than before, while the second facilitates simultaneous collection of back scatter data using multiple frequencies.The EM 2040 MKII is a broadband multibeam echosounder system, which uses frequencies from 200kHz to 400kHz to yield a wide swath of up to 170 degrees. With the new high frequency feature, the EM 2040 MK II will additionally employ 600kHz and 700kHz frequencies to
Research Vessel Gets Turbocharger Overhaul
Marine propulsion engineers Royston has completed the overhaul of two turbocharger units as part of service work on a marine diesel engine onboard Gardline’s research vessel, MV Ocean Endeavour.The project saw the removal of the heavy-duty ABB VTR 200 turbochargers from the vessel’s Mirrlees Blackstone ES6 engines and transportation from Hull docks to Royston’s test and repair center on the banks of the River Tyne in the North East of England.There, the units were dismantled and inspected by engineers for signs of wear or damage before being cleaned, serviced and reassembled with new
Kraken Reports Contracts Worth $2.8 Million
it has recently received orders from four U.S. companies and one Canadian company totalling $2.8 million. The company expects to fulfill these contracts in the first half of 2020.A new customer primarily targeting the defense industry will be using Kraken SeaPower batteries in its autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV). Kraken currently expects another battery order from this customer in the third quarter of this year.An existing defense industry customer is acquiring additional SeaPower This is the customer’s third order of Kraken batteries.An existing customer, a large defense contractor, is acquiring
Mapping the Ikaite Columns of the Ikka Fjord, SW Greenland
Ikka Fjord in SW Greenland is the only known place in the World where the rare carbonate mineral ‘Ikaite’ (named after the fjord) is found in the form or large column structures, as opposed to its usual small crystal form. Over the past 25 years there has been an intensive scientific effort to try and understand why the mineral forms here and in such dramatic form.Ikaite is found in areas outside of the Fjord, generally in sediments where an identified calcite inhibitor exists facilitating the formation of Ikaite meaning its presence can be explained. Without an inhibitor common calcite
N-Sea Wins Defense Contract by Royal Netherlands Navy
N-Sea announced a commencement of a five-year contract with the Royal Netherlands Navy.The contract, which includes two year-long extension options, will see N-Sea operate the multipurpose support vessel, Geosea, which arrived at the naval base at Den Helder (Netherlands) on March 4.N-Sea’s workscope throughout the charter will utilize the vessel as a facilitating platform for mine countermeasure activity, development and training in advance of the Navy’s implementation of new-build, mine hunter class vessels.N-Sea specializes in integrated subsea solutions for the renewable, oil and
iXblue Unveils Real-time Static Bathymetry Sonar
iXblue announced the launch of its new SeapiX-C solid-state 3D multibeam sonar. This new sonar offers real-time georeferenced static bathymetry capabilities to marine works operators for instant monitoring and decision-making.“Increasing efficiency and reducing vessel-time is a key focus for all companies working in the Offshore industry. Because we strive to always bring new innovative solutions to support operators in their daily operations, we developed a unique static bathymetry solution dedicated to marine works,” explains Frédéric Mosca, Head of iXblue’s Sonar
SBG Systems' INS Chosen for Shom Fleet
Shom, the French national hydrographic and oceanographic office selected SBG Systems’ inertial navigation sytems to renew their whole fleet of INS. They chose Navsight Apogee INS for their speedboats and survey vessels for both shallow and deep-water real-time bathymetric surveys and Qinertia PPK software for post-processing tasks.Shom has 3 major objectives: national hydrography and cartography, defense support in hydro-oceanographic fields, and support in maritime geospatial products and services for public policies on the sea and the coast. The fleet used by Shom is based in Brest and is
Trimble Outfits New Teledyne Unmanned Survey Vessel
compatible with Trimble Marine Construction (TMC) software, enabling marine construction/dredging projects to be monitored in real time anywhere in the world.THE TELEDYNE Z-BOATTM 1800-T, designed and manufactured by Teledyne Oceanscience, is a high-resolution shallow water hydrographic unmanned survey vehicle with the newly released Odom Hydrographic Echotrac E20 Singlebeam Echosounder and dual antenna Trimble BX992 GNSS heading receiver. “Trimble's experience in GNSS guidance systems, and Teledyne's leadership in shallow-water hydrographic surveying provides an ideal solution for
Klein Chooses RadarWatch for Korean Offshore Wind Farm
Klein Marine Systems Selects Cambridge Pixel’s RadarWatch and Target Tracking Technology to Protect Korean Offshore Wind FarmCambridge Pixel, a developer of radar display, tracking and recording sub-systems, has supplied its RadarWatch coastal surveillance software, target tracking and radar recording technology to Klein Marine Systems, a subsidiary of Mitcham Industries, Inc. as part of a project to protect an offshore wind farm and its associated submarine transmission line off the coast of South Korea.Cambridge Pixel’s radar display, tracking and recording technology has been integrated
Measuring the Hostile Ocean Beneath Hurricanes
Unmanned Vehicles Collect Data for Improving Storm ForecastsThe influences of ocean conditions and currents on living environments are now more widely appreciated—from the Earth’s climate and severe weather conditions to fisheries and biodiversity. Sustained and widespread measurements are needed to provide essential clues for understanding the oceans, for effective monitoring of environmental changes, and for helping to clarify the long-term effects of global warming.To meet this challenge, ocean researchers have invented various types of unmanned observing platforms. Two variants developed
@ SAMS, Science + Autonomy = Answers
Few sea and ocean-related research projects today do not involve some form of underwater robotic or marine autonomous system. Elaine Maslin reports on how they’re being used by the Scottish Association of Marine Science.Whether it’s large autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), gliders, landers, small man-portable AUV systems and even air-borne vehicles, unmanned systems have become a day-to-day tool. And, while ready built systems are now readily available, easy access to components is enabling researchers to assemble bespoke platforms to meet specific
Inmarsat, ITC Global Expand Connectivity Options
The global provider of mobile satellite communications Inmarsat and the Panasonic Avionics Corp subsidiary ITC Global have announced a five-year strategic collaboration.The partnership enables the organisations to combine their highly complementary, market-leading services to offer broadband connectivity, paired with high-value connectivity solutions to customers in the maritime, yachting and offshore energy sectors.ITC Global will offer Inmarsat’s market-leading Fleet Xpress service, incorporating the Ka-band solution into its existing comprehensive range of Ku-band connectivity services.
UKHO Appoints Rear Admiral Sparkes
The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) appointed Rear Admiral Peter Sparkes to the position of National Hydrographer and Deputy Chief Executive.As National Hydrographer, Sparkes is the UK government’s representative at the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), where he works with partners to set and maintain standards that protect the safety of mariners around the world. In addition to this, he oversees key international partnerships with foreign navies, hydrographic offices, governments and commercial organizations to support the sharing of global marine geospatial data. And on behalf of UK
