USV Maxlimer

Last updated

USV Maxlimer is a semi-autonomous, remotely controlled unmanned surface vehicle (USV) owned and operated by the British company SEA-KIT International. [1] She was the winning entry in the Shell Ocean Discovery X Prize competition, and subsequently has been used as a proof-of-concept vessel for uncrewed, over-the-horizon offshore operations.

Contents

History

Maxlimer was constructed in Maldon, Essex, for the GEBCO-NF Alumni Team, an international group that competed in the Ocean Discovery X Prize. [2] During the competition, which took place in late 2018, [2] Maxlimer deployed a HUGIN autonomous underwater vehicle to map 278 square kilometres (107 sq mi) of seafloor in the Mediterranean Sea off the Greek city of Kalamata in 24 hours, an accomplishment that made GEBCO-NF the winning team. [3]

In May 2019, Maxlimer made a demonstration crossing of the North Sea between West Mersea, England and Ostend, Belgium. [4] On the outbound trip to Belgium, she carried a cargo of 5 kilograms (11 lb) of oysters, and on the return a case of beer. [4] Though largely ceremonial, as the voyages were for the purposes of demonstration, SEA-KIT states it was the first commercial autonomous crossing of the North Sea. [4] In July, the USV Maxlimer again deployed and recovered a HUGIN Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) several times in commercial service for Equinor to inspect offshore underwater pipelines in the North Sea - the first time that inspection equipment had been remotely controlled past line of sight. [5]

SEA-KIT intended to send Maxlimer on a transatlantic crossing in early 2020 as part of a project co-funded by the UK Space Agency through the European Space Agency’s Business Application programme. This would have been the first ever unmanned crossing of the Atlantic, [6] but as a result of restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the voyage had to be cancelled. [1] Instead, in July 2020, Maxlimer sailed from Plymouth on a 22-day mission to map about 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi) of previously uncharted seafloor 460 kilometres (290 mi) southwest of England on Europe's continental margin. [7] The project aimed to demonstrate the capabilities of current technologies to survey unexplored or to-date inadequately surveyed ocean frontiers and served to prove the capabilities of SEA-KIT's USV design, namely long endurance, over-the-horizon capability and ocean-going ability. With its project partners, SEA-KIT demonstrated the ability to conduct remote survey operations with safe control of the USV via satellite communications from anywhere in the world. The Atlantic mission was covered by BBC News. [8]

Design

The SEA-KIT X-class USV, of which Maxlimer was the first, is a remotely controlled, configurable mother-ship platform that can launch and recover remote vehicles such as large AUV/UUVs or ROVs for missions including deep-water bathymetry, offshore and subsea asset inspection and hydrographic survey with reduced risk to personnel, decreased costs and lower environmental impact. A large payload capacity, long range and over-the-horizon endurance means that multiple missions can be undertaken in a solo capacity or as part of a larger fleet of crewed or uncrewed vessels.

Data can be transmitted via broadband link or satellite following on-board processing and compression, or stored on board for future retrieval. SEA-KIT USVs are controlled using SEA-KIT's proprietary G-SAVI control and surveillance platform, which provides safe and secure operation from remote control centres. The SEA-KIT X class design holds Unmanned Marine Systems certification from Lloyd's Register.

Maxlimer is 11.75 metres (38.5 ft) long and 2.2 metres (7.2 ft) wide. [4] She has a diesel-electric propulsion system, which gives her a top speed of around 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) and extended endurance capability up to 14 days. [9] Although her speed is low, SEA-KIT claims that Maxlimer uses only 5% as much fuel as a comparable crewed vessel as a result of weight savings and efficiencies in the propulsion system. [10] Maxlimer can operate autonomously, depending on conditions, or under remote control from a shore-based command facility. [6]

Related Research Articles

Remotely operated underwater vehicle A tethered underwater mobile device operated by a remote crew

A remotely operated underwater vehicle is a tethered underwater mobile device, commonly called underwater robot.

Survey vessel Type of research vessel

A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the purpose, modified for the purpose or temporarily put into the service as a vessel of opportunity, and may be crewed, remotely operated, or autonomous. The size and equipment vary to suit the task and availability.

Autonomous underwater vehicle Unmanned underwater vehicle with autonomous guidance system

An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is a robot that travels underwater without requiring input from an operator. AUVs constitute part of a larger group of undersea systems known as unmanned underwater vehicles, a classification that includes non-autonomous remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) – controlled and powered from the surface by an operator/pilot via an umbilical or using remote control. In military applications an AUV is more often referred to as an unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV). Underwater gliders are a subclass of AUVs.

Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), sometimes known as underwater drones, are submersible vehicles that can operate underwater without a human occupant. These vehicles may be divided into two categories: remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROUVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). ROUVs are remotely controlled by a human operator. AUVs are automated and operate independently of direct human input.

Unmanned surface vehicle Vehicle that operates on the surface of the water without a crew

Unmanned Surface Vehicles are boats or ships that operate on the surface of the water without a crew. USVs operate with various levels of autonomy, from simple remote control, to autonomous COLREGs compliant navigation.

Uncrewed vehicle Type of vehicle

An uncrewed vehicle or unmanned vehicle is a vehicle without a person on board. Uncrewed vehicles can either be remote controlled or remote guided vehicles, or they can be autonomous vehicles which are capable of sensing their environment and navigating on their own.

Explorer autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is a Chinese AUV developed in the People's Republic of China (PRC),first entering service in November 1994. It should not be confused with another two Anglo-American AUVs that share the same name: the American Autonomous Benthic Explorer AUV (ABE) built by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the British Columbia-based International Submarine Engineeringbuilt Canadian Explorer AUV, which is based on its earlier ARCS AUV.Many Chinese AUVs later developed, such as Wukong, WZODA, CR series, Exploration series, Micro Dragon series, Sea Whale series, Submerged Dragon series AUVs, are all based on experienced gained from Explorer AUV.

The Knifefish is an autonomous unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) under development by General Dynamics Mission Systems and Bluefin Robotics for the United States Navy. It is a propeller-driven minesweeping robot designed to replace the Navy's trained dolphins and sea lions after the retirement of the 50-year-old Marine Mammal Program in 2017. The Knifefish was first unveiled at a Navy exposition in April 2012, and is intended to operate in concert with the Navy's littoral combat ships (LCS) as part of a specialised counter-mine system. The Navy plans to begin sea trials of the Knifefish in 2015, and to enter it into active service in 2017.

The Rainbowfish class bathyscaphe is a Chinese deep submergence vehicle under development in 2015 and originally scheduled to enter service in 2019, but has since been postponed after 2020.

Jinghai USVs are a series unmanned surface vehicles developed by Shanghai University, and as end of 2021, a total of eight models have been identified:

Yuzhou USVs are various USV developed by Chinese Zhuhai Yunzhou Intelligence Science & Technology Corporation (云洲智能科技), most of which have already entered service with Chinese military, paramilitary, police & governmental agencies:

JUST unmanned vehicles are uncrewed vehicles developed by Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, and these unmanned vehicles include both unmanned surface vehicle (USV)s and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV)s

CSSC unmanned vehicles (UUV)s are uncrewed vehicles developed in the People's Republic of China (PRC) by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), most of which are in service with various Chinese governmental agencies/departments, and government-owned enterprises.

Hadal 1 ARV is a type of very little known unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) built in the People's Republic of China (PRC). ARV stands for Autonomous Remotely-controlled Vehicle, an idea pioneered in China by Shenyang Institute of Automation (SIA) of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and SIA is also the developer of Hadal 1 ARV, and its predecessor Hadal ARV, as well as Arctic ARV, the predecessor of Hadal ARV. Hadal 1 and its predecessor Hadal, and earlier Arctic series ARVs are the Chinese counterparts of Nereus hybrid unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), because just like Nereus hybrid UUV, these ARVs can operate both as a AUV or a ROUV. The general designer of Hadal 1 ARV is Mr. Tang Yuan-Gui (唐元贵).

Thor Robotics unmanned vehicles are various uncrewed vehicles developed in the People's Republic of China (PRC) by Chinese firm Thor Robotics (杭州霆舟无人科技有限公司). Many of its products have entered service with Chinese military, law enforcement, and civilian agencies.

Ostar unmanned vehicles are uncrewed vehicles. They are developed in the People's Republic of China (PRC) by Ostar, most of which are in service with various Chinese governmental agencies/departments, and government-owned enterprises.

Deepinfar unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV)s are uncrewed vehicles developed in the People's Republic of China (PRC) by Deepinfar, most of which are in service with various Chinese governmental agencies/departments, and government-owned enterprises.

PWT unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV)s are uncrewed vehicles developed in the People's Republic of China (PRC) by PWT in Wuhan, most of which are in service with various Chinese governmental agencies/departments, and government-owned enterprises.

WSST unmanned vehicles are uncrewed vehicles developed in the People's Republic of China (PRC) by Weihai Sky Sailing Technology Co. Ltd., most of which are in service with various Chinese governmental agencies/departments, and government-owned enterprises, as well as Chinese military.

Petrel hybrid underwater glider (HUG) is the first model of a series of very little known Chinese autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV)/autonomous underwater glider (AUG) developed by Tianjin University in the People's Republic of China (PRC), and subsequent models based on this first model have also been developed.Petrel series underwater glider has been successfully deploy in South–North Water Transfer Projectand many other Chinese research projects.

References

  1. 1 2 "22 day unmanned Atlantic mission accomplished". Maritime Journal. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Ocean mappers line up for XPRIZE final". BBC News Online. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  3. ↑ "GEBCO-NF Alumni robots win ocean-mapping XPRIZE". BBC News Online. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Autonomous boat makes oyster run". BBC News Online. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  5. ↑ "Swire Seabed Wraps Up Equinor Unmanned Pipeline Inspection". Offshore Energy. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  6. 1 2 "SEA-KIT Gears Up for First Ever USV Transatlantic Crossing". The Maritime Executive. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  7. ↑ "Robot boat completes three-week Atlantic mission". BBC News Online. 15 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  8. ↑ "Robot boat completes three-week Atlantic mission". BBC News. 14 August 2020.
  9. ↑ "SEA-KIT website". SEA-KIT International.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ↑ "12-metre ship aims to be first to cross Atlantic without a crew". Reuters. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.