Image: Elaine Maslin on feature-based identi? cation for navigation, enhanced sta-Freedomtion keeping, remote control from an unmanned surface vessel One of the latest concepts to emerge on the market is Ocea-(ASV) and also to demonstrate and commercialize 3D terrain neering’s Freedom. Oceaneering says that the 3.3m-long ve-navigation and 3D object recognition. To this will be added hicle will be able to perform inspection, advanced survey, and 3D mapping and 3D vision capability, to enhance tracking/light intervention work, under a modular design. navigation capability, position estimation, stereo vision and This will mean it can be con? gured for the mission it’s re-the ability to compute distances to objects, says Erkers. quired for. For long-term resident capability, Saab Seaeye is planning “Freedom will be autonomous or with real-time control op-to add recharging and data upload/download capabilities and eration,” says Arve Iversen, ROV Operations Manager, Ocea-then carry out long-term testing and a reliability enhancement neering, during Subsea Valley. “It will be free swimming or program. tethered, long-range and with the possibly of being resident Saab Seaeye is also developing its own electrical manipula-for long periods of time.” tor, equivalent in size and power to an industry standard work Freedom will have a common center section, housing system class ROV manipulator, such as the Schilling T4. Prototype components that will support four different vehicle con? gura-joint testing was carried out late last year and it is due to be tions: inspection and light intervention; towed, long range sur-launched to the market in Q4 2018. Saab is also looking at vey and long-range inspection. The different con? gurations other electric tooling. are created by switching out the vehicles nose and aft sections. “Sabertooth is not a work class ROV,” Erkers says. “It’s an The vehicle will also have access to a suite of intervention AUV that has capabilities other AUVs do not have. It is not tooling, stored subsea. easy to develop this type of system. In 2015, Saab Seaeye As a resident vehicle, Freedom will operate out of one or demonstrated that it had everything needed to have autono-more docking stations, which provide power for recharging, mous behaviour – auto-docking, station keeping, 3D terrain tooling, and data upload and download. This will be in a frame, navigation. Eni Cleansea is 10 years ahead of Statoil.” sitting on a subsea base (suction anchor), which contains a May 201838 MTRMTR #4 (34-49).indd 38 MTR #4 (34-49).indd 38 5/10/2018 9:42:46 AM5/10/2018 9:42:46 AM