Autonomous Vehicle for Inspection of offshore wind farm Subsea INfrastructure (AVISIoN)

The AVISIoN project will address the cost, health and safety risk, and environmental impact of inspecting OWF subsea cables and foundations, and surveying the surrounding seabed. Through the optimisation of innovative and disruptive AUV technology, AVISIoN will unlock a 0.8% reduction in the LCOE of offshore wind. By removing the requirement for vessels, technicians and remotely operated vehicles (e.g. human intervention), AVISIoN will enable low cost, fully autonomous subsea inspections and surveys of OWF. Removing the vessel will reduce diesel emissions and the environmental impact of OWF. The main beneficiary of the project will be Modus, a UK provider of subsea inspection and survey services. The key optimisation will be delivered by the SME, Osbit, who will develop an innovative subsea docking station to allow the permanent residency of the AUV offshore. ORE Catapult will test and demonstrate the AUV hardware developed in the project at its world class test facilities. The project outcomes will demonstrate the benefts of the AUV approach, supporting Modus to secure subsea inspection and survey work in the offshore wind sector. AUV based inspection and survey can result in potential lifetime savings of £1.1bn for the current EU OWF fleet.