Trials of the A.Ikanbilis Hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (HAUV) conducted by Nordsee One GmbH and supported by manufacturer BeeX Pte Ltd and European partner Subsea Europe Services GmbH at the Nordsee One wind farm in the German North Sea have demonstrated true autonomous operation of the underwater inspection vehicle.The A.Ikanbilis features an AI powered Autonomy Engine that enables true ‘launch and leave’ operation for diverse underwater inspection tasks. During the trials, the Nordsee One team tasked an A.Ikanbilis HAUV to inspect monopile foundations including Impressed Current Cathodic Protection (ICCP) anodes and Cable Protection Systems (CPS). On launch, the vehicle was able to complete its objectives without a human in the loop, autonomously choosing the safest, fastest and most effective way to approach its mission parameters. The ability to make these decisions without operator input is possible due to the AI continuously learning from the suite of tightly integrated sensors, allowing intelligent adaption to complex and changing environments, such as tides, currents and visibility. The geo-referenced reporting of the monopile condition and 3D CPS inspection was provided to the client in near real-time via an integrated cloud-based platform.
