Tech File: A Resident Eyeball ROV

Elaine Maslin
Thursday, August 19, 2021

There's also space in the market for resident observation systems, believe Boxfish Research and Transmark Subsea. The two companies signed a partnership agreement in October 2020 to deliver a fully autonomous resident observation ROV, the ARV-i.

The ARV-i combines underwater vehicle, photography and robotics technology from Boxfish Research and underwater power and communications from Transmark Subsea. The goal is for it to be able to spend up to 12 months per deployment underwater, based out of a subsea docking station with battery charging, with wireless communication of data during dive excursions. Every 12 months, it would be exchanged with a replacement and the original refurbished.

"In resident mode, ARV-i can be fully autonomous with its self-piloting systems taking advantage of the existing Boxfish ROV platform, such as the advanced stability and maneuverability of its eight-thruster design," says Craig Anderson of Boxfish Research. "Additional proprietary artificial intelligence onboard enables the ARV-i to optimize movements within its environment."

Craig says the vehicle has an array of up to six machine vision cameras and one live 4K navigation camera, and it can deliver 17,000 lumens of lighting for high quality observation underwater. The vehicle weighs only 25kg, making deployment and entry to confined spaces easier, while maximizing the power-to-weight ratio and enabling extended excursion time and range. The ARV-I can carry a range of sensors to monitor underwater assets and assist in navigation.

ARV-i can also be manually piloted using live video or via a digital twin of the environment, enabled by high-speed optical and acoustic communications between the dock and the vehicle. Piloting of the ROV away from and back to its offshore dock may be performed from distant, land-based locations.

Marcel Bras of Transmark Subsea, says applications include offshore industries that require underwater observation and inspection, including energy, oil and gas, wind farms and aquaculture.

"In fish-farming, for example, ARV-i is able to observe and monitor the whole environment inside the cage," says Marcel. "On a typical mission in autonomous mode, ARV-i will leave its dock fully-charged and use its onboard processors to detect fish and nets in real-time, allowing it to closely observe the fish while avoiding the nets and other obstacles normally present. During the dive, ARV-i will use its battery of cameras to collect data on the health of the assets including fish biomass, net integrity and water quality.”

"ARV-i will return to its dock for charging via a Transmark Subsea pinless connection, simultaneously sending data to the cloud," says Mark Bokenfohr of Transmark Subsea. Undocking, docking and mission execution is performed without human intervention; ARV-i uses sonar and computer vision for the purposes of asset mapping, following and obstacle avoidance. Under manual operation, detected objects will appear in the pilot’s display of the digital twin, allowing pilots to follow, inspect or avoid them as necessary."

The ARV-i is also available as a tethered solution, adds Craig, in conjunction with a subsea tether management system. Up to 8K / 50MP camera systems are be supported in the ARV-i tethered solution

Boxfish's ARV-i prototype successfully completed trials in May 2021. Sea trials are now underway, with official market release scheduled for October 2021.

Categories: Technology New Products Vehicle News Subsea Technology ROV Subsea Residency

Related Stories

SPE Offshore Europe 2025 set to drive transformational change for the energy sector

Shipbuilder Delivers Fast Crew Boat Pair to Aesen

Cheniere, JERA Ink Long-Term LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement

Seatrium Engages Axess Group to Clear FPSOs for Brazil Deployment

Sapura Energy Rebrands to Vantris Energy

BP, ONGC, Reliance Industries Ink Deal for Offshore Exploration in India

PTTEP Buys Chevron's Hess Unit Share of Southeast Asia’s Offshore Block for $450M

Pandion Energy Divests Interests in Three Norwegian Assets to Inpex

SBM Offshore’s Jaguar FPSO Enters Drydock in Singapore (Video)

CNOOC Finds Oil and Gas in South China Sea

Current News

SPE Offshore Europe 2025 set to drive transformational change for the energy sector

Shipbuilder Delivers Fast Crew Boat Pair to Aesen

Norwegian Oil Investment Will Peak in '25

Saipem Marks First Steel Cut for Tangguh UCC Project at Karimun Yard

Saipem Wins FEED Contract For Abadi LNG Project FPSO Module In Indonesia

Cheniere, JERA Ink Long-Term LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement

Shelf Drilling Lands New Jack-Up Contract in Vietnam, Extends Egypt Deal

Seatrium Engages Axess Group to Clear FPSOs for Brazil Deployment

Inpex Picks FEED Contractors for Abadi LNG Onshore Plant

Inpex Kicks Off FEED Work for Abadi LNG Scheme Offshore Indonesia

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com