NTNU spin-off company Eelume has collaborated with Kongsberg Maritime and Statoil to develop swimming robots for sub-sea inspection and light intervention.
The “subsea janitor” has successfully been demonstrated in the deep waters of Trondheimsfjorden, Norway's third-longest fjord at 130 kilometres long.
Eelume vehicles are modular combinations of joints, thrusters and various payload modules.
The slender body allows for sensors and tools to be mounted anywhere. It has the ability to hover and maneuver in strong ocean currents
Dual-arm configuration can also be achieved by mounting tooling in each end and forming the vehicle body into a U-shape, which allows one end of the arm to grab hold to fixate the vehicle while the other end can carry out inspection and intervention tasks.
One end of the arm can also provide a perspective camera view of a tool operation carried out at the other end.
All these flexible operational scenarios are made possible by the unique shape-changing capabilities of the Eelume vehicles.
You can learn about the latest developments in the maritime sector at PTI's Terminal Automation & Training C-Level Networking Conference, taking place in London on April 19-20, 2017.
