Andrew Czyzewski

UK-led project aims for AUVs that can learn from mistakes

News

A UK-led European project is aiming to build truly intelligent autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that can learn from their mistakes and adapt mid-mission to changing circumstances.

Ultimately the aim is have an AUV deployed almost continuously underwater around oil rigs that will identify and fix problems before they occur, preventing costly downtime.

The three-year FP-7 PANDORA project gathers researchers from Heriot-Watt University and King’s College London alongside academic colleagues from Italy and Greece with an industrial steering group that includes BP, SubSea7 and SeeByte.

Any PANDORA prototype would have three core operational capabilities: structure inspection using sonar and video; cleaning marine growth using water jets; and finding, grasping and turning valves.

Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are the workhorses of offshore inspection, repair and maintenance. However, they require up to 6km of cable and the constant presence of a support boat, which must be commissioned and mobilized specifically for ROV deployment.

AUVs have long been seen as a desired piece of technology in offshore environments. They could be launched opportunistically from a ship or permanent FPSO(Floating Production Storage and Offloading)unit while the ship continues its journey.

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