Bibby HydroMap has carried out a demonstration of the DriX autonomous unmanned survey vessel at the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult facility at Blyth in northeast England.
The aim was to showcase DriX for use in the offshore renewables sector to capture data and information at all stages of a project, Bibby said.
DriX surveyed two 2MW turbines at the Blyth offshore wind farm owned by Eon during the demo. However, adverse weather conditions and the shallow water around the turbines hampered data collection, Bibby said.
The trial was the first conducted by the vessel from a shore-based location, the company said.
A Kongsberg marine broadband radio (MBR) system was used for the first time as the communications link for DriX.
“Utilising the MBR vastly increased the operating range of DriX to approximately 20km, for the purposes of the demonstration the MBR was temporarily mounted to the roof of the ORE Catapult building to maximise its potential range,” Bibby added.
Because of current legislation a support vessel, Taurus, was also used to provide constant line of sight to DriX, as well as emergency support should it be required, the company said.
The DriX pilot was also on board the support vessel should an emergency situation arise, it added.
Bibby HydroMap operations manager Tom Davenport said: “The facilities provided by the ORE Catapult were ideal for conducting a demonstration like this.
“We were able to organise and mobilise the equipment with relative ease and all involved in the organisation of the event were extremely helpful.
“Using the Port of Blyth and approaches provides great demonstration area and allows the attendees to view the demonstration from the quayside.
“The event attracted an audience from across the Offshore Renewables sector, thanks to the assistance from the ORE Catapult; which meant interesting and informative discussions were had about the future use of autonomous technology in the sector.”
ORE Catapult data and digital business lead Steve Ross said: “Having events like the Bibby HydroMap DriX demonstration here in Blyth is really what ORE Catapult strives for.
“Today we saw a great mix of owner operators, and business’ from across the supply chain, get to understand in quite some detail how cutting-edge technology continues to push the offshore energy industry forward.
“You can expect further events such as this in the year to come.”
Bibby said the demonstration built on the positives realised from previous trials at the Gwynt y Mor offshore wind farm.
It added that the unfavourable weather conditions on the day further highlighted the weatherability of DriX and its ability to compete with traditional survey vessels.