Offshore staff
YATELEY, UK – Fugro has chosen underwater positioning and communications technology from Sonardyne to support its global fleet of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) and ROVs.
Fugro will integrate Sonardyne’s Mini-Ranger 2 Ultra-Short BaseLine positioning system, configured with the company’s Marine Robotics software extension pack, into its new 12-m (39-ft) long Blue Essence USV. The first vessel is expected to be delivered to Fugro’s base in Perth in February.
Mini-Ranger 2 with the enabled Marine Robotics pack will allow the Blue Essence to be used to deploy, track, command, and control the Blue Volta electric ROVs and AUVs as part of inspection, survey and data harvesting projects, all controlled from Fugro’s onshore remote operations centers.
Construction of further vessels is under way at SEA-KIT’s bespoke facility in Tollesbury, UK, where integration of the Mini-Ranger 2, complete with hull-mounted acoustic transceiver will take place.
According to Sonardyne, Mini-Ranger 2 can simultaneously track 10 targets at fast update rates, is quick to install, and has a standard operating range of 995 m (3,264 ft), extendable to 4,000 m (13,123 ft).
01/26/2021
