The drones that learned to swim and safeguard the seas
It has been decades since drones first took to the skies and over the years they’ve demonstrated their immense potential to change our world. In recent years, drones have moved out of their “natural habitat” in the skies to prove their utility in a new environment: the ocean. While the development of underwater drones has been slower than that of their sky-based counterparts, it’s increasingly clear that they have every bit as much potential to improve our world.
The technology behind underwater drones has its origins in early deep-water submersibles such as DSV Alvin, the submarine which made history by exploring the wreck of the Titanic in July 1986.
Over the course of its twelve dives, DSV Alvin showed the world amazing never-before-seen images of the doomed ocean liner, a milestone that was later immortalized in James Cameron’s Oscar-winning film.
In subsequent years, submersible robotic technology evolved towards remote operated vehicles, laying the groundwork for the development of underwater drones. These drones are now invaluable tools in many areas and the precise real-time data they provide has proved especially useful for efforts to safeguard and protect our seas.
The data provided by underwater drones currently helps to create accurate marine meteorology forecasts, measure waves in real-time, monitor the health of sensitive ecosystems like coral reefs, predict coastal erosion or just observe marine life on the ocean floor.
Underwater inspectors
Underwater drones’ potential also extends to the world of industry. They are especially useful for performing underwater surveys, a task which has been traditionally carried out by teams of human divers. By adding drone technology to the mix, survey teams can now minimize the risk to human divers and retrieve highly-detailed information from hard-to-reach areas.
By performing repetitive tasks once done by human divers, these drones (also called autonomous underwater vehicles) also allow teams to focus on more valuable and strategic tasks.
Repsol recently carried out its first test with an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) at the Tarragona industrial complex in January 2019. The tests were a joint effort between Repsol and Everis Aerospace and Defense (Everis ADS), a technology company that specializes in developing unmanned systems.
The goal was to test drones’ ability to perform visual inspections of the harbor dock and the sealine, a two-kilometer long pipeline that connects the refinery with tanker ships at sea. For the test, we used a light drone capable of reaching depths of 100 meters and autonomously traveling distances of several kilometers. By equipping the drone with video cameras and sonar, we managed to successfully perform a recurring task that had previously only been carried out by teams of divers.
The results so far have been very positive. “We’re going to continue to develop this idea as it has shown great potential to perform preventive maintenance tasks on underwater structures, monitor the movement of the seabed and aid in early detection,” explains Eva Gómez, Digital Advisor of Repsol’s Blockchain, RPA & Digital Experimentation Hub.
If using drones for underwater inspection has the potential to transform the energy sector, imagine what we could achieve by incorporating aerial drones to inspect equipment in hard-to-reach areas, support remote operations, perform safety and security tasks or carry out topographical work at sea.
Who knows? Perhaps one day these underwater drones will uncover new secrets still hidden in the wreckage of the Titanic.
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