Saab Seaeye said it has shown that underwater e-robotic vehicles can dock at remote deepwater sub-resident docking stations for data transfer, assignment instructions and battery charging.
The underwater robotics company said its Sabertooth hybrid autonomous/remotely operated underwater vehicle (AUV/ROV) can now successfully dock in a safe and controlled manner at different kinds of remote stations.
“This breakthrough is significant for both the offshore energy industry and ocean science who have been watching developments in residency technologies for the substantial operational and financial benefits possible from remote residency,” Saab Seaeye said in a press release.
According to Jan Siesjö, chief engineer at Saab Seaeye, Sweden, “Sabertooth is the only hovering autonomous system that can operate in both AUV and ROV modes, an is the only vehicle currently on the market capable of undertaking long term residency operations in difficult to access locations.”
The 3,000m rated Sabertooth, incorporating the manufacturer's iCON intelligent control system and fitted with a Blue Logic inductive device, can be based at a remote location docking station ready to be launched on pre-programmed or man-controlled missions, including inspection, repair and maintenance, research tasks and environmental monitoring.
At the docking station, tooling packages are stored, batteries recharged and data transferred via satellite or cable to shore.
Blue Logic’s R&D Manager, Lars Gunnar Hodnefjell, was part of the team that worked with Saab to integrate the Blue Logic 2kW charger into the Sabertooth.
“It was a world class demonstration of flexibility and agility,” he said. “The experience really supported the ‘plug and play’ promise we offer our customers.”