Supported by ACUA Ocean and Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (OREC), Robosys Automation has jointly secured grant funding through Innovate UK for a specialist project exploring collaborative autonomy in maritime robotics.
The Collaborative Automations for Subsea Intervention (C.A.S.I) project is led by Robosys Automation. The initiative aims to improve the operation and maintenance (O&M) and inspections of offshore assets with smarter, zero-emission, collaborative technologies within unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) across Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) operations.
Robosys Automation is set to deliver two work packages which include Multiple Objective Autonomous Adaptive Path Optimization, specifically focusing on weather routing and fuel consumption optimization for traditional fuels and hydrogen.
The second package is for the design of software architecture and simulation of collaborative autonomy between USVs and ROVs , and the development of software algorithms for station keeping and obstacle avoidance in uncharted offshore wind farms (OWF).
This feasibility study includes the software and algorithm design, as well as the architecture required for the vessel to arrive on station safely and efficiently, maintain station, and collaborate with and autonomously follow an ROV.
C.A.S.I Project Aims
Current state-of-the-art subsea inspection reportedly requires ROVs to be deployed from larger, heavy, diesel-burning crewed vessels which are limited by safety, crewing, vessel availability, and operational sea states.
The C.A.S.I project aims to help the maritime autonomy sector to further advance dual-use operations such as surveying, monitoring of critical offshore and underwater infrastructure, offshore energy, and marine science, to increase productivity, profitability, safety, and sustainability through these novel technologies.
The route optimization will increase the endurance of the vessel overcoming the impact of hydrogen’s low volumetric density. Other aspects of the project include engineering feasibility of the ROV’s launch and recovery systems (LARS), combined with the related impact on a vessel’s stability in these scenarios.
The project’s success will be defined through software architecture design and algorithms primarily lead by Robosys’ development team to deliver Multiple Objective Autonomous Adaptive Path Optimization.
Additionally, ACUA Ocean will spearhead the design of a new LARS and ROV that will both be technically advanced and commercially feasible, which will feature enhanced vessel stability for full open ocean operations and launch and recovery of payloads in over 4m significant wave heights.
OREC will develop the test and evaluation criteria for the LARS and conduct a Life Cycle Assessment. The MASS Collaborative Autonomy Project is set to reveal its findings in Spring 2025.
Nigel Lee, CSO of Project Lead, Robosys Automation, commented, “We are all delighted to have been awarded this significant funding, and look forward to commencing the rolling out of the project with our collaborators. This award reflects the importance of continuing to research and develop the maritime autonomy sector, to further support operational efficiency, enhance safety at sea, and actively drive decarbonisation.”
