Anyone who has been involved with conventional deep-tow survey technology knows the trials and tribulations of using these remote sensing systems to explore the deep ocean. The oil and gas industry was certainly aware of the inherent difficulty in using these systems and produced a paper in 1998 highlighting what the industry would like to see in a survey autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). Several deepwater oil C and C Technologies Inc., a commercial marine and land survey company, had been eying technological advances in the AUV industry throughout the 1990s. With a commitment from one of the major oil and gas firms for AUV system utilization, C and C began looking for an AUV manufacturer willing to commit to the survey payload specifications and design criteria required by the oil and gas industry. Norway-based Kongsberg Maritime emerged as the company best suited for supplying the AUV platform to C and C. Reasons for C and C choosing Kongsberg included the successful construction and operation of two AUV prototypes, a willingness of the company to incorporate software developed by C and C and a commitment from Kongsberg to allow C and C personnel to participate in the production and building of the AUV. The HUGIN 3000 AUV was officially commissioned as a commercial survey vehicle in January 2001, The success of the HUGIN AUV demonstrates that this technology has progressed from a reasearch interest to a commercially viable alternative for the collection of remote sensing data in deepwater environments. Inertial navigation has been proven as a successful means of extremely accurate positioning of an AUV in deepwater. The ability of the AUV to navigate curves, and the lack of a tether results in significant savings in survey time and money when compared to conventional equipment. Maintaining a constant altitude and survey speed allows for the collection of high-quality survey data. High-resolution multibeam data allow engineers and geoscientists to view the deep seafloor at resolutions needed for complex and detailed engineering.
Deepwater AUV logs 25,000 kilometers under the sea
Sea Technology ; 44 , 12 ; 10-15
2003
6 Seiten
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Englisch
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