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A research consortium led by the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) has developed a novel underwater welding robot designed to perform maritime infrastructure repairs without the need for manual industrial diving.
The Maritime AI-Guided & Remote Operated Welding (MARIOW) project, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), addresses a critical shortage of skilled workers capable of repairing port facilities, offshore structures, and metal subsea assets. The system integrates modern sensor technology with an underwater robotic arm to produce precise, uniform weld seams under difficult visibility conditions, relieving human divers of physically demanding and high-risk tasks.
At the core of the technology is a modular underwater manipulator developed at DFKI. This robot arm is engineered for depths of up to 6,000 meters, featuring a two-meter reach and a decentralized joint control system that enables repeatable, high-precision movement.
To navigate the welding process, the system utilizes a stereo camera developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD, which captures high-resolution imagery at the welding torch. Using these images, AI models developed by the Laboratory for Autonomous Systems at TH Köln autonomously identify welding joints and calculate optimal movement paths.
The consortium also introduced an innovative flux-cored wire welding process (UW-FCAW) to replace traditional stick electrodes. Developed by the Institute for Materials and Process Technology at TH Köln alongside AMT GmbH, this continuous wire process allows for an uninterrupted flow of material, which is essential for stable and reproducible automated seams.
The project concluded with a successful demonstration at DFKI’s underwater test basin in Bremen, where the system executed the full sequence of AI-based joint detection, path planning, and welding.
Christian Koch, Project Manager at the DFKI Robotics Innovation Center, said, “We were able to successfully demonstrate that automated submerged flux-cored arc welding is feasible. We have thus laid the foundation for a globally innovative technology that holds great potential for the maritime industry and Germany as an industrial location.”
The project team, which also included Unterwasserkrause – Mutzeck GmbH, plans to advance the technology for real-world harbor environments. Future developments will focus on mitigating the effects of salt water, currents, and waves, while integrating laser systems to remove slag produced during the welding process.
