66 to ensure nobody is within 30 m while it is working. The Navigator attaches to a Gremsy universal mounting and it is powered by an internal battery, although it can draw power from the UAV instead, saving 400 g. With the battery, Navigator weighs 4.1 kg and runs for about 45 minutes. The unit has an integrated IMU/GNSS from SBG, so a survey-grade GNSS antenna must be mounted on the UAV to achieve the system’s 3 cm accuracy and precision. The IMU is used to measure the angles at which the laser is transmitting to allocate 3D coordinates plus GNSS position for each laser shot. SubCtech, a developer of lithiumion batteries for use in underwater applications ranging from uninterruptible power supplies for energy infrastructure to running sensor networks, powering UUVs and providing energy storage for renewables, showed off a new battery in the megawatt/hour (MWh) capacity range. The initial application is for a customer who needs a backup power supply to close pipeline valves, says Mike Naismith. However, enquiries are coming from other industries, including local storage for wind or wave energy, and from operators of underwater vehicles who want to be able to charge them without bringing them back to the surface. “Our first customer now is in the process of bringing it in the water as we speak, and they’ve got two of them because they want to have them as a larger backup system. When one is being charged, the other one is operating on the seabed.” The client also wants to be able to charge it underwater with renewable energy. “So that’s our next step on the development side: to push innovations in the energy market.” Naismith says this explains why SubCtech has made its core battery technology scalable. To create the 1 MWh class battery system, the company took up to 12 batteries of about 100 kWh capacity, connected them together and mounted them in an underwater skid with a weight of around 23 t. SubCtech builds its batteries to withstand the pressures encountered in the ocean at depths of 6,000 m and more, building the enclosures from titanium or duplex steel for the subsea industry. The company also makes all of the main components, including the battery management system, but excluding the cells. The industrial-grade cells are very reliable, and the BMS controls all operating conditions for maximum safety and reliability. “Our batteries, particularly the large MWh energy storage systems, are the only fully international certified battery system in the industry. It is a simple and reliable way to save on equipment and maintenance costs, as well as to reduce the CO2 footprint at the same time; for example, by replacing long tiebacks and reducing vessel deployments,” says Naismith. Voyis showed off its Discovery family of high-resolution, underwater vision systems for uncrewed vehicles. It includes the new, 300 m-rated, shallow water version of the Discovery Stereo camera, which joins the 4,000 m-rated version and the mono Discovery camera. Both stereo cameras come with visual simultaneous localisation and mapping (VSLAM) capability, developed in cooperation with sister company EIVA. “That’s what is going to bring real-time, 3D modelling capabilities,” says Patricia Sestari. “So the stereo cameras now provide high-resolution stills images, 4K videos, and real-time 3D modelling for positioning and quality control.” The VSLAM capability is powered by EIVA’s NaviSuite. “The Discovery stereo camera has been out there, being used commercially, for over a year, and what was lacking was real-time feedback to understand the model being created in real-time,” says Sean Elmer. “Prior to the EIVA launch, we relied on ROV pilots and survey project managers, creating very rigid and structured survey lines and plans to make sure they covered everything they needed to make an June/July 2024 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Yellowscan’s new Navigator bathymetric lidar uses a green laser to map the seabed, and river and lake beds in waters too shallow for the operation of surface vessels. Use of the Class 3B visible laser requires eye-safety precaution
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