Function
Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) provide low cost means of surveying underwater, focussing on balance of plant assets such as cables and foundations.
Who supplies them
Manufacturers: ECA Hytec, General Dynamics, Teledyne Marine Gavia and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Operators: Fugro, Modus and UTEC.
Key facts
AUVs have the intelligence to operate independently from the vessel and has no connecting cables, whereas ROVs are connected to a remote operator.
AUVs have the potential to replace vessel-based surveys. They are launched offshore from parent vessels.
AUVs can be launched from a CTV and therefore avoid the need for a larger vessel with the lifting capacity needed to launch and recover an ROV.
What’s in it
- Crew to operate and maintain it
- Vision system and specialist tools