Offshore Exploration

Last Updated on Friday, 11 June 2010 12:36 Written by Wayne Thursday, 11 March 2010 11:34

Our SPECTRE based autopilot was developed specifically for unmanned autonomous vessels. Its functionality includes

• Heading,
• Speed,
• Track / waypoint following,
• Hovering / dynamic positioning,
• Attitude (roll + pitch),
• Height / depth.

Dynamic positioning may be of particular interest in the Offshore Exploration sector. It controls the vehicle to keep on station even when subject to a tidal current. We have found that it may be more efficient to allow the vehicle to adjust its heading when attempting to hold its position; it senses the direction of the environmental factors and turns the vehicle to point into the environment. Sea trials carried out in the Gulf of Mexico demonstrated that our dynamic positioning showed good performance.

The AUV autopilot is easily configured to suit the particular vehicle and is not restricted to vehicle type - for instance, it is equally suited to controlling a torpedo shaped body and a workhorse type vehicle. It uses self-tuning algorithms which learn the vehicle's responses from a series of maneuvers.

The AUV Sim simulator is equally configurable and can be used to develop, test and demonstrate the autopilot. Using a simulator makes the development phase faster and simpler.

The AUV autopilot has been fitted to a number of subsea and semi-submersible vehicles, including BAE's Talisman M vehicle. It has also been demonstrated working in deep water in the Gulf of Mexico.