Acoustic

Seacat 2.0 – Autonomous inspection of marine installations

Seacat has been with us from the start of SCOOT. It has been a nice platform for testing integration of sensors, actuators and software. Seacat also allows us to experiment with tasks for robots in the marine domain. In 2021 we have been looking at automation of inspection/supervision of marine installations. “We” means a broad group of actors (see logos below), where SCOOT has the coordinating role. Last month we recorded a short promotion video to summarize the work.

So, we have integrated a range of sensors above and below the sea-surface, and we have implemented precise navigation close to objects, including in autonomous mode. Now we need to work on the platform specifications: speed, weight, maneuvering, endurance. Then we will have a robot ready for operations in the toughest of environments, the splash zone and close to objects. That is a high risk area where we prefer not to put humans.

More about Seacat

Breaking: Ocean Infinity acquires SCOOT partner MMT

Yesterday came the news that our partner MMT is being acquired by another major within ocean surveying: Ocean Initity, the pioneer in the use of simultaneously deploying fleets of marine robots. At SCOOT we are excited about the possibilities for synergies!

"I’m glad we have found new owner who want to develop MMT in the future and who also has a lot of interesting technology for us to explore. This will not change our engagement in SCOOT or other arrangements we have, e.g. with the University."
P-O Sverlinger
CEO, MMT

Ocean Infinity today operates a large fleet of AUVs, similar to our flagrobot AUV Ran (owned by UGOT, mananged by MMT). Ocean Infinity’s Armada Fleet represents a coming leap in the use of surface-going ocean robots.

Do we need to say that there has been many comments and ‘Wow!’ on Twitter and LinkedIn and other fora… Here is the press release on the matter (pdf):

SCOOT’s sailing robot gets new acoustic sensor for ocean currents, and a new sail

The image above shows our autonomous surface vessel SB Kringla being retrieved after the first of two magnificent field seasons. Now she will be upgraded with both an acoustic sensor for measuring currents and an alternative “high wind” sail.

The new sensor will be a Doppler Current Profiler by Aanderaa AS, measuring from the surface down to 30 -50 meters (depending on conditions). SCOOT is proud to be an early adopter of this sensor on an autonomous platform. Measuring the currents in the ocean surface layer can for example tell interesting things about air-sea interaction and the transfer of wind energy to the ocean, especially together with surface wind data, which SB Kringla is already measuring. The new sail is slightly smaller and more optimised for the high wind conditions in the Southern Ocean. Sails are easily switched between deployments. The upgrade (sensor and sail) will be done by Sailbuoy’s manufacturer, Offshore Sensing AS in Norway.

Doppler Current Profiler from Aanderaa AS

The Doppler Current Profiler will be used, among other applications, to further enhance our understanding of the role of vertical shear mixing in the S Ocean, which was hypothesised in a recent publication in Geophysical Research Letters, using data from SB Kringla: “Submesoscale Fronts in the Antarctic Marginal Ice Zone and Their Response to Wind Forcing”

SB Kringla is the first Sailbuoy to be deployed on the Southern hemisphere. SCOOT’s director Sebastiaan Swart often refers to her as “the cute one”, which does not imply that she is spared in any way! Kringla has repeatedly earned battle scars and proven herself as an ultra robust platform in the harshest conditions of the Southern Ocean (see posts from first season and second season). Data from SB Kringla (and the diving Seaglider robots) can be viewed at the website of the project Robotic Observations and Modelling of the Marginal Ice Zone.

The upper video shows a snapshot of SB Kringla during first operator training in Gothenburg. The lower video shows a Sailbuoy battling a storm on the North Sea.