Offshore staff
HOUSTON — DeepOcean has won the OTC 2024 Spotlight on New Technology Award for its Autonomous Inspection Drone (AID).
The development is designed to deliver more cost-efficient subsea inspections combined with higher-quality and more precise data, said CEO Øyvind Mikaelsen.
It is a partnership between DeepOcean, Argus Remote Systems and Vaarst, with guidance, support and funding from Aker BP.
The AID is based on a Rover MK2 ROV from Argus with upgraded hardware and software packages.
Argus is responsible for the AID platform and navigation algorithm. DeepOcean’s responsibilities cover the digital twin platform, mission planner software and live view of the AID in operation, while Vaarst has contributed the machine vision camera Subslam 2x for autonomous navigation and data collection.
The drone measures 1.25 x 0.85 x 0.77 m, weighs 320 kg in air and can operate in water depths down to 3,000 m. It can travel in DP mode and has both station keeping and remote control functionalities.
Inspection data from the AID is streamed onshore, with the position of the vehicle continuously streamed back into the digital twin to increase situational awareness.
Last year, the drone completed subsea trials at Aker BP’s Alvheim Field in the central Norwegian North Sea. During a 10-day inspection campaign, Aker BP and DeepOcean inspected subsea trees and other subsea infrastructure.
Operations were supervised remotely from both the Edda Fauna vessel and from Remota’s remote operations center in Haugesund, Norway.
05.06.2024
