Low-logistics AUVs in the offshore sector

摘要

Advances in autonomous underwater vehicle technologies over the past decade have led to the development of the new class of low-logistics survey AUVs'. The last five years have seen an expanding role for this class of AUV in the offshore sector. Many of the oil majors are making good use of this new AUV capability, which can rapidly be deployed by a small team to navigate accurately around a subsea inspection site carrying a range of sonar payloads. Several fleets of low-logistics survey AUVs are in operation worldwide in the offshore survey industry, and AUV fleets in the defence sector are being used for similar mission profiles in the areas of search and salvage, rapid environmental assessment and navigation survey.