Harvest Smart Buoy Tech Helps Deliver Data from the Seafloor

Australia's Harvest Technology Group Limited said it has developed a unique solution for an oil and gas exploration company, enabling access to real-time data from the sea floor.

The system uses acoustic transfer technology to securely transmit data 24/7 from a monitoring structure on the sea floor to a “smart buoy” at the surface. The smart buoy acts as a modem to communicate data back onshore via mobile or satellite link – at a fraction of the bandwidth typically required, alleviating the challenge of relying on retrospective data to make critical operational decisions.

“Harvest’s Nodestream protocol allows customers to receive a live video feed of their subsea assets from anywhere via any mobile device with Internet access,” said Jimmy Dean, Head of Harvest’s Solution Architecture. "Another important feature is the ability to alert onshore headquarters when there is a major change in sensor readings, so customers can respond quickly in emergencies or monitor until intervention is required."

The technology is self-powered so it can operate for several years without the need for in-person inspection and maintenance, removing people from unsafe environments, reducing carbon emissions and eliminating the high costs associated with traditional subsea monitoring.

Last year, Harvest invested nearly $5m in R&D, plus $1mm  to purpose-build its innovation hub in Perth’s Technology Park.

Harvest's Smart Buoy acts as a modem, securely transmitting live feeds 24-7 from subsea assets. Image courtesy Harvest Technology