Bristol, UK-based subsea services firm Rovco has been awarded second-phase funding for its live 3D vision and artificial intelligence (AI) survey technology.
Along with additional funding from national innovation agency Innovate UK, Rovco has secured a partnership with ScottishPower Renewables and returning partner Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult to further develop the project, known as AUV3D.
The project is expected to last 18 months and will involve additional research into applying machine learning and AI-based analysis to 3D survey and cable burial data.
In January this year, Rovco secured first-round funding from Innovate UK along with a partnership with ORE Catapult. The first phase of the project, which has now been completed, focused on developing equipment and software to produce live 3D data from subsea environments, which was trialled at ORE Catapult’s renewable energy test facility in Blyth.
Rovco chief executive and founder, Brian Allen said “We are excited to be partnering with ORE Catapult again and ScottishPower Renewables to deliver cutting-edge live 3D vision technology to the subsea market."
The Innovate UK funding will enable our disruptive tech to be brought to market, bringing tangible benefits to the industry in terms of significant cost and time savings.
Securing this funding follows months of commercial testing and is testament to the strength of the technology and the unique offering we have developed at Rovco.
R&D is a key focus for us and over the next year we are planning on doubling our R&D team to ensure we continue to be at the forefront of new technology.
Our aim is to develop a system which delivers a step change in subsea survey, brings greater efficiencies to underwater projects, and enables full autonomy.
Source:osjonline
