We have recently been awarded grant funding by Marine-i, the EU funded programme set up to boost marine innovation in Cornwall. The grant will help fund the development a Remote Sensing System (RSS) to allow our hydraulically actuated robotic systems to achieve ‘Synchronous-Stabilisation’. Synchronous-Stabilisation will help improve the reliability, success and safety of ship based tasks such as Launch-and-Recovery (LAR) and cargo/equipment transfer between two floating platforms or vessels.
The Remote Sensing System will add Machine Vision to our sophisticated robotic control systems. This will enable the movement of objects of interest to be tracked relative to a known datum. Movement data will be fed back into the control system allowing robotic arms to synchronise with the object. Typical ‘objects of interest’ include Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and Floating Wind Turbines.
STL’s Proteus Launch and Recovery System will be used as the test bed for the new technology.
[Photo Credit: Deep Discoverer Recovery by NOAA Ocean Exploration & Research is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0]