TECH

Autonomous vessel completes mission in the Atlantic ocean

The UK's 12-meter Maxlimer Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) made an impressive demonstration of the future of robotic maritime operations, completing a 22-day mission to map the area of ​​the Atlantic Ocean floor.
SEA-KIT International, which developed the device, controlled the entire process via satellite from its base in Tallsbury, in eastern England. The mission was partially funded by the European Space Agency. In the future, robotic ships promise to radically change approaches to sea development.
Many large research companies using traditional crewed vessels have already started to invest heavily in new remote control technologies. Cargo carriers also recognize the economic benefits of robotic ships. But the remote control must still be practical and safe to gain wide acceptance. This was exactly what Maxlimer was doing.
The ship left Plymouth in late July and sailed to work 460 km to the southwest. Equipped with a multi-beam echo sounder attached to the hull, the boat mapped over 1,000 sq. km from the continental shelf at a depth of about one kilometer. For this segment of the seabed, there was virtually no updated data recorded in the UK Hydrographic Office. SEA-KIT wanted to send a ship across the Atlantic to America as part of a demonstration, but the COVID-19 crisis made that impossible.
"The overall objective of the project was to demonstrate the power of modern technology to explore under-explored maritime areas and, despite the planning challenges we face due to COVID-19, I feel that it is. We have proven satellite direction and our design capabilities - the crew is tired, but in a good mood, ”said SEA-KIT International CTO Peter Walker.
The USV Maxlimer was originally developed for the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, which won. The goal was to identify next generation technologies that could be used to map the world's ocean floor. Four-fifths of the seabed has yet to be explored in an acceptable resolution. Robotic solutions will be very useful in this task.
Maxlimer uses a communication and control system known as Global Situational Awareness, which operates over the Internet. It allows the operator to remotely access video materials from CCTV cameras, thermal imagers and radars, as well as listen to the surroundings live and even communicate with nearby ships.


SEA-KIT(Fugro)

Maxlimer connects to three independent satellite systems to stay in touch with the control room in Tollesbury. The robot moves slowly, at speeds of up to 4 knots (7 km / h), but the diesel-electric hybrid is very efficient.
SEA-KIT Executive Director and Designer Ben Simpson told BBC News: “We carefully calculated how much fuel would remain in the tank. We thought it would be 300-400 liters. It turned out that there are another 1300 liters. In other words, Maxlimer returned to Plymouth with a fuel tank that was about a third full.
In addition to the European Space Agency, project partners included Global Marine Group, Map the Gaps, Teledyne CARIS, Woods Hole Group and the Nippon-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Foundation. Another partner was Fugro, one of the largest marine geotechnical companies in the world. It recently announced a contract with SEA-KIT to acquire a fleet of unmanned vessels for exploration in the oil, gas and wind energy sectors.

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