Underwater Intervention Vehicle, Eelume

Eelume marine robots will be permanently installed on the seabed being ready 24/7 for planned and on-demand inspections and interventions regardless of weather conditions. This solution will dramatically save costs by reducing the use of expensive surface vessels, which are needed to support such operations today. Eelume underwater intervention vehicles can be installed on both existing and new fields where typical jobs include; visual inspection, cleaning, and operating valves and chokes. These jobs account for a large part of the total subsea inspection and intervention spend.

Eelume vehicles are modular combinations of joints, thrusters and various payload modules. The slender body allows for precision hovering and manoeuvring even in strong ocean currents.

Sensors and tools can be mounted anywhere along the flexible body. A dual-arm configuration is achieved by mounting tooling in each end and forming the vehicle body into a U-shape. One end of the arm can grab hold to fixate the vehicle, while the other end 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.

Eelume AS is a company sourced from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), and has teamed up with the NTNU Technology Transfer Office, Kongsberg Maritime and Statoil to develop the next generation of underwater robots.

Features

• Subsea resident: Designed to live subsea by connecting to a docking station on the seabed.
• Safer and greener: A resident solution which can be mobilized 24/7 without the need for a surface vessel, enables safer, greener and more cost efficient subsea operations.
• Modular system: Adaptable to a wide range of subsea operations. Modules can be connected in different combinations to form various types of vehicles.
• Intervention: The vehicle itself is a dexterous robotic arm which can operate tools and carry out intervention tasks.
• Long range: The slender and torpedo-shaped vehicle can transit over long distances like a survey AUV.
• Access difficult areas: The flexible and slender body can access and operate in restricted areas of subsea structures.

Applications

• Visual inspection
• Cleaning
• Operating valves and chokes