3D at Depth secures patent for underwater structure monitoring

3D at Depth has received a new patent, Systems and Methods for Monitoring Underwater Structures, from the U.S Patent and Trademark Office.

The patent’s focus is predominantly on leak detection and identifying changes to surfaces and volumes on and around underwater assets via 3D at Depth’s patented active optical measurement device.

The new patent also covers systems and methods for detecting leaks by taking precise scans of the areas around underwater structures.

“This new patent covers systems and methods of monitoring the volume or surface of an underwater structure over time,” said Carl Embry, CEO of 3D at Depth.

“Applications discussed for the subsea environment include monitoring of anode volume and depletion rates over time; seabed volume measurement for drill cutting, scour, or subsidence; and seabed cracks or deformations due to reservoir overpressure from well injection and stimulation.”

This is also said to include detection of liquid hydrocarbons, gas hydrocarbons, drilling fluid, glycol, hydraulic fluid, or other types of fluid used to operate and test subsea infrastructure.

According to the company, one of the chief benefits of the technology is its function as a one-stop solution for multiple applications, with abilities to take precise millimetric accurate measurements of assets, in addition to leak, volume, and change detection. This eliminates the need for spending valuable time having to use two separate hardware solutions.

The same LiDAR can be used for 3D underwater construction measurements, inspections, surface and volume measurements, and leak detection. Reducing water column transit times to and from the vessel for swapping sensor payloads continues to reduce costs, reduce carbon usage, enhance overall project efficiency, and lower risks, 3D at Depth concluded.

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