MMRRC buys ROV for renewable energy projects

Mobile & Marine Robotics Research Centre (MMRRC) has purchased a new remotely operated vehicle (ROV) from Forum Energy Technologies which will be used for renewable energy projects in Ireland.

MMRRC, operating at the University of Limerick, will be supplied with a new ROV and associated launch and recovery systems in March 2017 by following a tender published last year, MMRRC informed.

The Sub-Atlantic Comanche 2000m Observation Class ROV will be housed at the Limerick Docks, and used for subsea inspections and intervention work on renewable energy infrastructure.

Also, it will be mobilized on vessels at other ports of Ireland, for offshore work at wind, tidal and wave energy test sites and farms, MMRRC noted.

Dan Toal, Director of the MMRRC, said: “To aid research, development and roll out marine renewable energy, it is vital that we can operate in the high energy wave, wind and tidal regimes of target sites and understand the environment from an operational capability. Wind, waves and currents can make it an extremely difficult environment for humans to operate in, so it is necessary for us to use advanced subsea robotic systems and vehicles which are capable of operating in the harshest of underwater conditions.”

MMRRC is focused on the application and development of practical and industrial relevant marine technologies including vehicle control systems and sensor development for ROVs and unmanned aerial systems operation in challenging marine environments.