All Quiet on the AUV Front

Brian Morr updates the state of commercial AUV development.

In the early part of 2002, there was great enthusiasm for commercial survey autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs.) C & C Technologies' Hugin, built by Kongsberg Simrad, was running reliably and producing data of superb quality. The Fugro/Boeing/Oceaneering AUV (Does it yet have an easier name? We'll call it the FBO) was nearing completion of its sea trials. The Thales Sea Oracle was just about ready for trials, and Maridan had set up its survey company in Houston and elsewhere. Other projects were underway: Autotracker (for surveying cables and pipelines with AUVs) and the SOAVE joint project to develop what is, by any name, an AUV/ROV hybrid vehicle for offshore inspection, repair and maintenance tasks in primarily European waters. Now that 2002 is history, things look a little different.

Something seems to have pricked the AUV balloon and let out some of the enthusiasm. One underlying factor most certainly was the collapse of the cable market, considerably reducing the amount of potential survey. All the above vehicles now ultimately depend on the oil and gas majors and their projected survey work (cable being out of the picture for the time being). In a time of consistently high oil prices and revenues, the level of spending on new projects has not been proportionally high. In justification, the uncertainties over Iraq and the Middle East in general make it no surprise that spending is being kept to a low level and that enthusiasm for developing costly AUVs has waned.

Another factor is that, several years ago, we guessed that the potential market for "large" AUVs capable of 24 to 48 hour missions in depths of 4,920 feet (1,500m) or more was enough to keep six to eight of the vehicles working worldwide. With cable gone for the time being and the Hugin exceeding its expectations, that figure could be revised downward to three or four vehicles, maybe even less.

On the plus side, the C & C Hugin package has gone from strength to strength, producing high quality data in record time and saving its clients huge amounts of money: I understand that the average cost savings to oil major clients has been more than 60 percent, with savings on some projects into the low 80 percentile. Time has also been saved, with three years worth of projected work in the Gulf of Mexico being completed in eight months.

The downside is that the available work was completed. With an expensive vessel and vehicle spread to maintain, work had to be sought elsewhere. So C & C has been working in the Mediterranean and off West Africa, and are currently headed for Brazil.

Not much has been heard of either the FBO AUV or the Thales Sea Oracle. Rumors, of course, abound about the fates of both vehicles. The FBO vehicle was said to be "carrying out military work," but was also rumored to "have gone back to Boeing for repair." One scurrilous story suggested that the Thales Sea Oracle was completed, delivered, and then put under wraps. Perhaps those in the know would care to comment?

Maridan has suffered an unfortunate fate - its survey operation was somewhat ill-starred from inception and did not disappoint its detractors. As a result of going in this direction, sales of Maridan vehicles suffered. At press time, the company was poised on the edge of receivership. Hopefully it will receive suitable investment and be able to continue developing and maybe operating vehicles rather than competing as a full-blown survey company. Whether the current situation will create a problem for the ongoing SOAVE and Autotracker projects remains to be seen.

So What Now?
Where are commercial AUVs going then? Time to polish the crystal ball - who knows what the reality will be a month from now! What is known is that there has been an upsurge of interest in intervention AUVs, or at least their possibility. They were not considered likely for another few years, but in October 2001 Cybernetix successfully demonstrated the docking capabilities of its Swimmer AUV/ROV hybrid vehicle in 656 feet (200m) of water.

This has possibly opened the way for the early development of a production variant that could be used in a commercial field and ultimately reduce costs as well as improve safety (the intervention ROV is already on-site on the seafloor in an emergency) and would reduce dependence on specialised DP ROV support vessels. The SOAVE project is aiming for the same goal.

The downside here is that the DP vessel owners and operators will lose revenue, as their vessels would become less critical to offshore interventions. This may ultimately slow the introduction of this technology. There is also the question of the cost of the power and data cable infrastructure required for these systems to operate - being able to include such infrastructure in the concept and design stage of new fields is some time off.

A promising alternative, also from Cybernetix, is its Autonomous Light Intervention Vehicle (ALIVE). This would allow simple, short duration tasks such as observation and recording, opening and closing valves, etc., to be carried out with ALIVE being deployed from an unspecialized vessel of opportunity. No field infrastructure is needed and from observations from this vehicle, decisions could be made about the most expedient method of deployment (if needed) of a full-blown ROV intervention. The three-year project is on schedule, currently at the end of the second year, and the vehicle itself is under construction.

...and for Survey?
On the survey front, there are also possibilities. The savings for deepwater AUVs over conventional deeptow systems are considerable in both time and cost. The improved data and positional quality is now beyond dispute. But, as has already been mentioned, the market is limited.

In shallow water, say less than 2,624 feet (800m), the position is less clearcut. Surveys can be carried out very effectively by hull-mounted or shallow towed systems. Data quality is perfectly adequate, positioning is not a problem, and speed is higher, so it is hard for an expensive AUV such as we've mentioned to compete. However, the crystal ball indicates that there should be a market for small, inexpensive AUVs that would have more limited duration and depth capabilities, and maybe reduced sensor function (one sensor per launch instead of a full suite). They would also need to be competitively priced and small and light enough to be launched and recovered off the beach or relatively small vessels.

There are signs that this is already happening. The Remus (formerly from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute) has entered the commercial fray under the Hydroid banner. Fetch, from Sias-Patterson, is still thriving. And there's the unexpected new entry from Hafmynd in Iceland, the Gavia. FAU still has its modular Morpheus under development.

They're all well under $500,000 apiece and can be fairly easily handled without specialized equipment or vessels. All can carry a variety of sensors singly or simultaneously and so, once established, should be able to compete in the shallow end of the market both in geophysical and environmental studies.

A further bonus would be the successful introduction of networking between AUVs. This would allow a number of small, single-function units to work together to simultaneously produce data from a variety of sensors. In other areas, the Webb Slocum Gliders are already working for long-range (time and distance) oceanographic studies.

Oceans 2002: Breathing Life Back into the Industry
If some or all of this comes to pass, the next year or so should be interesting and put some air back in the AUV balloon, albeit giving it a different shape than before! At this point the crystal ball needs to be dusted and put away - some interesting stuff was actually seen at the recent MTS Oceans 2002 in Biloxi, Mississippi.

The conference attracted a good level of attendance and differed largely from other events such as UI and OTC in having a focus on the military, academic, and research elements of the offshore industry. Technical papers tended to be, well, technical, with a good representation from AUV-related interests worldwide.

Exhibits likewise showed a different flavor. Wandering around the show were some perennials and some new items. C & C Technologies was there in force with both Hugin and traditional survey related items on their booth.

The US Navy's Seahorse was there, as previously seen at Underwater Intervention 2002, always impressive in size. As mentioned before, the most cost-effective power source for this vehicle and its particular data collecting applications has been to use conventional alkaline "C" cells. What is even more impressive is the sheer number used - 9,216! They're arranged in "wafers" (singly layered) that can then be easily slotted in and out of the vehicle for replacement. Their advantage is availability, high power density, predictable behavior, and relatively easy disposal. The current pack has given some 100 hours of service with more to go.

Kokes Marine Technologies was exhibiting also - unfortunately no real submarine, but a model that mysteriously had some vapor issuing from its underside like an X-files extra. Although a fairly regular exhibitor at various shows, we have no news about the type of work that Kokes Marine has been involved in, but presume that all is well.

One of the most interesting exhibits was from Nekton Technologies. The company displayed its revolutionary Nektor propulsion/maneuvring system that allows equipped vehicles to change direction and even hover in a quite spectacular manner. Four flexible fins/vanes are set at right angles. By flapping (probably not the best word) in a precisely controlled manner, sometimes together and sometimes in opposition, they can change the vehicle's direction or cause it to hover. Nekton's video of a Nextor module installed on the FAU Morpheus was well worth watching. The vehicle used its propeller for normal travel, but when required to maneuver in confined spaces used only the Nektor.

Also intriguing was Nekton's range of MicroHunter AUVs. They range from 18 to 35 centimeters in length and have a propeller as their only moving part. They are small streamlined bodies with a single rear-mounted propeller and a fixed dorsal fin for stabilization. In spite of this apparent handicap, they are able to maneuver and navigate to predetermined targets. Their changes of direction in all axes are brought about by changes in propeller thrust/speed - like some bacteria, they move forward in a helical (corkscrew) motion, but the axis of that movement can be changed by an appropriate change in thrust from the propeller that causes the vehicle to literally go off at a tangent and thus realign the general axis of movement (Have I explained this well?). Even the smallest vehicles can be equipped with an appropriate sensor and applications include collecting environmental data in relatively confined areas.

Another series of small autonomous underwater vehicles has been designed with military applications in mind. The Ranger and UMAP vehicles are single-function but designed to be physically linked together in a "pack" and could be used for data collection or mine countermeasures. They use a swiveling ducted propeller for thrust and control, again showing astonishing maneuverability. Sippican was present with its disposable CMATT AUV designed to simulate torpedoes for the military.

Chris Roper was showing the LBV Seabotix low-cost ROV, along with some of Canadian company Inuktun's impressive product range. Several of its range of cameras were on show, some for harsh environments (underwater and the nuclear industry), as well as its low-cost FireFleye potted camera, complete with LED lighting array, that can be bought for somewhere in the region of US$700. Inuktun also showed a little of things to come, a thruster from their diminutive new SeaMor ROV, which will have a 1,000-foot (300m) capability. Although not yet in production, Inuktun already has three confirmed orders for the vehicle.

Now it's time to settle in for the harsh Texas winter and look forward to the bluebonnets next spring. Between now and then, of course, it's UI 2003, so I will see you in New Orleans. UW