SUT announces winner of Gwyn Griffiths Award 2022
The Society for Underwater Technology’s (SUT’s) Gwyn Griffiths Award for Underwater Robotics has been won by Rustom (Rusty) Jehangir, founder and CEO of Blue Robotics, an ocean technology company based in Torrance, California.
“The standard of entries for the SUT’s Gwyn Griffiths Award for Underwater Robotics was extremely competitive this year, and the nominees of high calibre, which challenged the judges to select this year’s winner,” said Neil Bose, Chair of SUT’s Underwater Robotics Panel, and Vice President (Research), Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador’s University. “On behalf of the Panel, the judges and SUT, we would like to recognise the talent, innovation, and qualities of all the entrants working in underwater robotics.”
On hearing the news of the Award, a delighted Rustom said: “Wow! I’m honoured and humbled to receive this award bearing Gwyn Griffiths’ name, given all that he accomplished and contributed to the field of marine robotics. I consider this Award to be an honour for my whole team.”
The submission nominating Rustom Jehangir for the Award stated:
“Under Rusty’s vision and leadership, Blue Robotics has dramatically reduced the cost of ocean robotics, reshaped market expectations of ocean engineering components, enabled hundreds of new research efforts using turn-key affordable platforms, and empowered thousands of new learners to gain practical experience with ocean technology.
“Blue Robotics is the exemplar of the current market trend that sees the cost of ocean robotics decreasing while the capabilities are increasing. This is double leverage and driving significant growth in the New Blue Economy.”
Looking to the future Rustom explained: “We’re eight years into our journey and I’m having more fun than ever! I truly believe in our core mission of making affordable, capable components and systems to enable people to do more with marine robotics and we’re going to keep doing that. We’ve learned a lot and we can keep doing it better and better. The ocean is a big place and there’s a lot of room to grow and a lot of opportunities.”
More information on what inspired his interest in subsea engineering, how he became involved in robotics, advice he would give to someone interested in a career in this field and his advice on innovation and starting your own company is in the current issue of the Big Blue World, the global newsletter of the SUT. Information on Blue Robotics can be found here.
New energy system prepares Seven Arctic for the future
Subsea7 is pleased to announce that the heavy construction / flex-lay vessel Seven Arctic is to be equipped with a new energy-saving system.
The new energy-saving and storage system will hybridise the vessel which currently has a total installed power of 27 MW and DP3 classification and is suitable for worldwide operations in water depths up to 3,000 metres.
At the heart of the new energy storage system is a containerised battery room with a maximum power of 3750 kW and 1250 kWh of energy. The system also includes a connection for shore power.
Based on the vessel’s operating profile, it’s estimated that a reduction of 5,000 tons of CO2 emissions is expected.
The contract for supplying and fitting the Energy Storage System has been awarded to Bakker Sliedrecht, an electrical integrator specialist in Dynamic Positioning (DP) vessels.
Stuart Smith, Vice President Asset Development at Subsea7 said: “We are very pleased to continue our relationship with Bakker on this contract which will hybridise Seven Arctic. This represents an important milestone in our sustainability programme to reduce our C02 emissions.”
Bas Oskam, Director Sales at Bakker Sliedrecht added: “The Energy Storage System can work with any battery or storage type. The control system is designed with maximum autonomy in mind, allowing for integration with different existing power and vessel management systems on board. This makes the system very suitable to apply in existing vessels.”
OceanTools take environmental responsibility seriously
OceanTools Limited in Bridge of Don is working hard to provide a green workplace.
Kevin Parker MD of OceanTools says “As a business owner and a parent, it’s important to me that we all do our bit to leave the planet in the best possible state for future generations. Environmental responsibility is becoming increasingly important to our team members, I’m proud to provide an environment where employees can make a difference”
The recently installed EV charging point encourages employees to travel sustainably and to recharge their electric vehicles while at work. OceanTools also provides shower facilities for staff who wish to cycle to work.
Day to day operations at OceanTools have also been reviewed to ensure sustainable and environment friendly processes where possible including sustainable purchasing and re-use and recycling wherever practicable. The product development team have come up with eco-friendly fluorescent dyes for use with the OceanTools DyeTector systems which have less environmental impact than traditional leak detection chemicals.
OceanTools is a world leading subsea engineering company specialising in the design and manufacture of equipment for the professional offshore and underwater markets based in Bridge of Don, Aberdeen.
Find more information here.
Australia’s super-sized salmon farmer gets a fifth Falcon
Huon Aquaculture, Australia’s second largest salmon farmer, has purchased another Saab Seaeye Falcon underwater robotic vehicle to support its marine and environmental operations.
This brings Huon’s Falcon fleet to five. Huon sees the Seaeye Falcon as a vital farming tool for surveying and monitoring their marine leases in South East Tasmania, Australia.
Huon purchased their first Falcon in 2015 and have, since then, been operating Falcons 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Dr Shea Cameron, Huon’s Subsea and Remote Systems Manager, says the Saab Seaeye model is invaluable to the company’s farming operations:
“Our dive and mooring teams use Falcons to inspect and maintain our critical subsea farm infrastructure.”
He says their Falcons spend more time in the water than any of the others in Huon’s large fleet of remotely operated vehicles that range from large specialist net cleaning vehicles to smaller eyeball class systems.
Dr Cameron adds that the Saab Seaeye Falcons have consistently proven to be a tough and capable platform, easy to service and with excellent manufacturer support.
“They can be rebuilt and repaired quickly and sent back out to work - making Huon a proud Saab Seaeye Operator!” Dr Cameron says.
As the world’s top selling robot in its class, the Saab Seaeye Falcon’s global success comes from being an easy to use, metre-sized, intelligent, multi-tasking, powerful, five-thruster strong, highly maneuverable robot with a reliability record covering over a million hours underwater.
NOVACAVI successfully test cable prototype
Prototyping is an important activity in most new product development processes. Whether the aim is to explore new opportunities or refine existing technologies, NOVACAVI can be a valuable partner in defining the right cable solution. With in-depth specialized materials knowledge and versatile manufacturing techniques, NOVACAVI specializes in taking applications from technical requirements to design and from design to prototype.
As an example NOVACAVI has recently provided a prototype for the new development of an innovative system for wave energy production that has successfully carried out a cable bending stiffness test as first step from prototype to final product. https://www.novacavi.it/cable-prototype-test/
Samples will be showcased at EURONAVAL 2022, Paris on NOVACAVI’s stand M126 Hall 2A next 18th -21th October.
Specialist in custom cables design and manufacturing for harsh and demanding environments since 1975, NOVACAVI provides the most efficient cable solution to face and support all activities in the most challenging scenarios.
For more details, please contact [email protected] or visit www.novacavi.it.
Kongsberg HUGIN Superior successfully integrated with SeeByte’s SeeTrack Multi-domain software
SeeByte, the global leader of smart software solutions for uncrewed maritime systems (UMS) have successfully integrated their multi-domain, command and control software with Kongsberg’s HUGIN Superior Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV).
The HUGIN Superior AUV System is the most capable commercially available AUV. Rated to 6000 metres it generates a superior data set coupled with the best position solution possible.
SeeByte’s SeeTrack v4 offers optimal goal-based planning and interoperability with other SeeTrack users. Its Open Architecture allows integration with different sonars, sensors or behaviours.
Combing the two systems offers enhanced operator situational awareness across single or multi vehicle operations with optimal planning, monitoring and post mission analysis results on a single user interface.
SeeByte’s Business Development Manager for Defence, Robert Johnson, said
“This Interoperability between autonomous systems is a great challenge in the underwater domain. We are delighted to work with Kongsberg to successfully integrate SeeTrack with the HUGIN Superior AUV and offer a best-of-breed solution for our customers”.
Vice President in Marine Robotics Sales at Kongsberg, Richard Mills, added “Our goal is to always improve the productivity and effectiveness of the HUGIN family of AUVs. Integrating HUGIN Superior with SeeTrack provides a more cohesive planning and supervision tool for multi-system operations.”
MetOceanWorks delivering Metocean study for world first project testing integration of hydrogen production with offshore wind
Vattenfall has engaged the technical expertise of MetOceanWorks to deliver metocean design criteria for the planned hydrogen pipeline for the HT1 project. The project is developing the world’s first hydrogen-producing offshore wind turbine, with the electrolyser sited directly onto an existing operational turbine at the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre in Aberdeen Bay. Using state-of-the-art high-resolution modelling techniques and the latest and most robust industry-standard practices, MetOceanWorks’ study will deliver key design criteria for the project.
“We are pleased to be supporting Vattenfall on this project, bringing our experience in highly-detailed numerical modelling and metocean studies in this region to ensure a robust suite of design criteria” said Andrew Watson (Managing Director, MetOceanWorks Ltd).
Vattenfall Metocean Project Manager Matthias Johannsen commented “Having access to reliable design criteria will be hugely important for the team. We are pleased to be working with MetOceanWorks, whose extensive experience is a great asset to the project.”
PanGeo SubSea, a Kraken subsidiary, completes Acoustic CorerTM survey for ONE-Dyas off the Dutch Coast
Kraken Robotics Inc. (TSX-V: PNG, OTCQB: KRKNF), is pleased to announce that its PanGeo Subsea subsidiary has completed an Acoustic Coring campaign for ONE-Dyas in the North Sea. This is PanGeo's second Acoustic Corer (AC) survey at ONE-Dyas's GEMS development, supporting foundation engineering of the N05-A gas platforms.
The campaign took place during the summer aboard the M/V Dina Star. PanGeo was the prime contractor for the project. The scope of work was to acquire an acoustic core at each of the 6 legs of the platform foundation, and an additional core centered on the wellhead.
PanGeo high-resolution data will identify geohazards such as buried boulders of 0.3 meters diameter and larger to 40 meters below the seabed. PanGeo also correlated the acoustic data to pre-existing geotechnical data and extrapolated the geotechnical properties across the entire foundation footprint. PanGeo's geoscientists will now assess the collected AC data to identify buried boulders that could cause pin-pile refusals and prevent additional costs and installation delays.
“We are very pleased to continue supporting ONE-Dyas on its GEMS region project” says PanGeo’s CEO Moya Cahill. “Through technology enhancements, we have accelerated the Acoustic Corer data acquisition rate, reducing vessel time and delivering a more cost effective and carbon attractive solution to the industry. The AC solution continues to build momentum with its next campaign this fall in the neighboring waters of the Baltic.”
Terradepth to showcase end-to-end survey and marine data management solutions at OCEANS 2022 Conference
Absolute Ocean Geospatial Platform to be Highlighted in Booth 209.
Terradepth, a leading provider of marine data solutions, will demonstrate new seafloor hydrographic and geophysical survey capabilities, along with Absolute Ocean, an easy-to-use cloud-native geospatial ocean data management solution that will soon be available as a commercial service, at the OCEANS 2022 Conference.
“Terradepth is creating innovative solutions to the challenges that have traditionally impeded access to, and collaboration on, vital ocean information,” said Joe Wolfel, CEO of Terradepth.
Terradepth has launched an aggressive marine data collection program of its own. The Austin firm has taken a leadership role in deploying Autonomous Underwater Vehicles configured with multiple marine sensors for seabed site verification, pre-construction surveys, pipeline/cable inspection, dredging/trenching support, habitat mapping, mineral exploration, hazard identification, and unexploded munitions detection.
To make these and other marine data sets more accessible, Terradepth developed the Absolute Ocean solution that provides a means to securely collaborate, manage and deliver ocean data to internal and external stakeholders. Absolute Ocean allows survey companies, marine organizations, and ocean data consumers to interact with all their data sets in one geospatially referenced place for enterprise-wide access and global collaboration.
“Absolute Ocean assists marine organizations in making better decisions through easy access to data sets and visualization functionality,” said Wolfel. “Collaboration between users on different sides of the globe becomes as simple as opening a web browser.”
Terradepth uses Absolute Ocean as the collected data delivery platform for the geophysical and hydrographic survey solutions it provides. In addition, the firm has populated Absolute Ocean with thousands of publicly available data sets, including side-scan sonar, synthetic aperture sonar, magnetometer grids, multibeam bathymetry, LiDAR, and satellite imagery. The solution also serves as a storefront where customers can purchase commercial products, such as satellite-derived bathymetry from TCarta of Denver.
Clients can access these files along with their own proprietary data sets for visualization and geospatial analysis on Absolute Ocean. Access to pre-loaded data sets and advanced functionality – including machine learning-based object detection – will be available through a graduated subscription pricing structure. Subscribing organizations can set permissions to allow access for all or some files across their enterprise and to partners in any location.
Terradepth will demonstrate its complete offering of marine survey solutions and Absolute Ocean in booth 209 at the OCEANS 2022 Conference & Exhibition being held October 17-20, 2022, in Hampton Roads, Virginia, USA.
For more information on Terradepth solutions, please visit www.terradepth.com.
RTsys announces AUVs contract delivery to the Slovenian Navy
RTsys, the French manufacturer of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) and handheld imaging sonar for EOD divers announces the contract signature with the Slovenian Navy for the supply of one COMET-MCM AUV and two NEMOSENS micro-AUVs.
These 3 autonomous vehicles will be added to the existing range in use of SONADIVE hand held sonar units and therefore will give to the Slovenian Armed Forces through its EOD Diving Department full capabilities for Mine Counter Measures from very shallow water up to 300m depth.
The COMET-MCM is designed to quickly and efficiently cover large underwater areas with both high-definition sonar imaging and TV camera capabilities, by offering the most accurate realtime tracking and positioning of the market. Alternatively, micro-AUVs NEMOSENS, manportable and modular vehicle offering the same capabilities of live tracking and high accuracy positioning would operate in very shallow water (less than 5m) for various scope of operations like beaching operations, rapid environmental assessment or identification and localization of underwater mines.
“Delivering a new complete MCM ecosystem to a NATO Country is always a privilege for RTsys and confirms the attractiveness of our company in the supply of sea-proven ‘manned / unmanned teaming’ solutions” says Pierre-Alexandre Caux, RTsys business director. “Autonomous vehicles combined with EOD divers’ skills remain the most reliable and efficient combination to operate safe MCM operations while reducing the time of divers’ action in the water. It also makes sense for Navies worldwide to cooperate closely with one unique manufacturer, from their original clarification of needs up to final delivery, operational training, spare part management and long-term support for maintenance.”
Full RTsys Ecosystem in video, here.
