AI-driven AUV to enable autonomous wind farm surveys

UK-based automation technology firm, Beam, has released details of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) which will support wind farm operators with subsea inspections when it is released to the market next year.

Called Scout, the AI-driven AUV will help to transform the viability and scalability of offshore wind, Beam said, by combining advanced artificial intelligence, real-time three-dimensional reconstructions, and precise navigation. Demonstrated at Scotland’s Seagreen Wind Farm, the country’s largest, in September, Scout’s surveys will be faster, more accurate, more cost-effective, and require a minimum of human intervention.

The AUV is set to take over the role of specialised vessels and expensive specialist crews. It will drive itself and inspect subsea structures autonomously, reporting its findings at the end of the survey. Beam expects Scout to be managed by personnel on existing crew transfer vessels during routine visits to offshore installations. This, the company said, will allow more people to assist in the subsea maintenance of facilities, helping to fill what some see as a looming skills shortage in the offshore wind farm maintenance sector.

The company identified several other benefits. Firstly, expensive third-party surveys will no longer be required because Scout can become part of a wind farm’s routine management system. Secondly, the new systems will enable the condition of subsea structures to be monitored over time: high-res 3D will allow year-on-year site comparisons, providing personnel with more information on asset integrity and structural health.

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This, in turn, should enable more strategic planned maintenance and minimise the need for reactive repairs. Scout will also reduce the carbon footprint of subsea surveys.