60 Oceanology International 2024, staged on 10-12 March at London’s ExCeL, was a busy event that showcased many new and innovative sensing, communications, navigation, positioning, robotic control and energy storage systems for use on and around uncrewed vehicles. As the industry increases its activities in offshore resource exploitation, from oil and gas support to renewables such as wind and wave energy, as well as ocean exploration and mapping of the surf zone, artificial intelligence (AI) is coming to the fore. Blueprint Subsea presented its range of acoustic sensors including Oculus multibeam imaging sonars. Deployed on ROVs, AUVs and poles, Oculus multibeam sonars are designed to provide high-quality images for both navigation and inspection applications. With models with depth ratings of 500 m, 1,000 m and 4,000 m, the sonars cover frequencies from 375 kHz to 3 MHz, and are available in single- and dual-frequency variants, and offer operating ranges from 0.1 m to 200 m. Blueprint quotes horizontal and vertical apertures of 130° and 20° respectively, angular resolutions down to 0.25°, and range resolutions down to 2 mm, with update rates of up to 40 Hz. The system can also be used to create detailed 3D images, with the caveat that the sonars have to be mounted in pairs. This has been done by a team of scientists at Stevens Institute of Technology, which fixed two of the sensors orthogonally on the front of a BlueRobotics BlueROV2 vehicle. One of the sonars was tasked with capturing data in the horizontal plane to measure range and bearing, while the other was oriented on the vertical plane to capture data in elevation. Combining the data generated by this pair of sensors allowed the team to generate 3D point clouds, facilitating detailed mapping of what the firm describes as a congested underwater landscape. Interpretation of the data was assisted by the use of advanced perceptual algorithms. The company argues that this has the potential to transform the way subsea inspections are conducted through offering a cost-effective, efficient, and safe approach. Blueprint also showed its StarFish sidescan sonars, and its SeaTrac ultra-short base line (USBL) positioning Peter Donaldson reports from the leading forum connecting marine science and ocean tech communities Oceanology International 2024 delegates check out the Exail stand with its DriX USV and FlipiX remotely-operated tow vehicle at the ExCeL (Image courtesy of the author) June/July 2024 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Oceans 10
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