Portsmouth, UK, based Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASV) has launched an oilfield services unmanned surface vehicle, the C-Worker (pictured).
The 20ft-long multi-use offshore unmanned surface vehicle was developed to conduct subsea positioning, surveying and environmental monitoring.
The first unit was demonstrated to members of the oil and gas and offshore surveying industries last month (January 2014), when ASV, alongside sister company C&C Technologies operated the vehicle in the Solent off Portsmouth, UK.
Fitted with a Sonardyne Gyro USBL acoustic positioning system, the vehicle successfully executed seabed positioning and Compatt calibration, station keeping, and following survey lines.
The unit has since been shipped to the Lafayette, LA. The vessel was flown on a chartered British Airways Boeing 747-800 freighter aircraft, coordinated by Chapman Freeborn.
The vehicle is based on technology from unmanned vehicles ASV has built to date, but also incorporates a variety of offshore payload combinations, including USBL, ADCP (current meter), CTD, Multibeam Sonar, acoustic telemetry, and passive acoustic sonar (PAM), for marine mammal detection.
Payloads can be developed by ASV or by customers who are supplied an empty payload frame and a software and power interface specification. The C-Worker's navigation sensor suite is comprised of C-Nav DGNSS, colour and light cameras, an infra-red pan tilt camera, an x-band marine radar and AIS.
Having completed the build and commissioning of the first C-Worker, ASV are now underway with the production of the second. The vehicles will be operated and leased by ASV with options for bare-boat and full service solutions.
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