OTC 2019: Wireless network monitors subsea equipment performance
Offshore staff
HOUSTON – WFS Technologies has premiered what it claims is the world’s first subsea wireless edge network for real-time monitoring of subsea assets.
The company’s wireless subsea devices are designed to provide long-term monitoring of subsea hardware.
ExtremeEdge, the latest development, processes and analyzes raw data at the sensor level, transmitting only the data needed to downstream solutions in real time rather than all sensor data collected.
By deploying a series of ExtremeEdge-enabled sensors, WFS can assemble a subsea network that can operate wirelessly.
Most traditional solutions, the company says, operate by individual sensor only, not as a network of sensors that can communicate, process, and transmit data between them.
In order to safeguard battery life on each sensor, the company uses ExtremeEdge analytics to monitor the sensor data in real time, only reporting if the data exceeds pre-set values.
Theo Priestley, chief marketing officer at WFS, said: “Edge computing enables a variety of calibration models to be uploaded to each sensor.
“During extreme events such as hurricanes, the system will calculate and compare performance of subsea assets against the model, transmitting data in real time.”
Each new Seatooth sensor - using a patented wireless technology standard for exchanging data through water and the water-air boundary using low frequency radio waves - features with a built-in processor designed to run WFS ExtremeEdge computing.
A new ‘hot swap’ architecture allows multiple sensors to be configured and connected via wireless communication to monitor for vibration, temperature, flow, fatigue, corrosion, and other conditions.
Brendan Hyland, the company’s CEO, added: “Increased efficiency, combined with reduced production and maintenance costs, means reduced data processing overheads. Overall, the result is considerable reduced risk and capital costs.”
More information at [email protected]
05/08/2019
