Hydromea seeking partners after pilot wireless ROV system test in North Sea

Swiss subsea robotics company Hydromea has tested wireless underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) system within a full ballast water tank on one of TotalEnergies’ North Sea floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels.

As informed, the company’s EXRAY was deployed during November 2021 to collect visual inspection data, validating system performance including wireless navigation and wireless communication.

The pilot was able to command and control the vehicle and receive real-time 1080p video feedback, using proprietary wireless optical communication technology. Without a tether attached, the risk of entanglement in complex confined spaces is greatly reduced, Hydromea explained.

Funded by the Scottish Net Zero Technology Centre, the project is a part of a larger development roadmap focused on enabling portable and affordable multi-robot inspections of the increasing number of submerged assets in the North Sea.

Head of Offshore Energy 4.0 at the Centre, Stephen Ashley, said that the development of such operations empowered by robotics and autonomous systems is key to driving the net-zero goals of the energy industry.

“This successful pilot trial has proven the EXRAY technology in a real environment and we look forward to supporting Hydromea through the final validation pilot later this year”, Ashley said.

Alexander Bahr, co-founder and COO of Hydromea, added that the company is now looking for the industry partners to work on the next funded phase of the roadmap that shall begin at the end of 2022.

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