Modus Seabed Intervention is developing an innovative approach to enable autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to remain at offshore wind farm sites without a support vessel. Modus Seabed Intervention, in partnership with Osbit and the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, is trialling an AUV docking station.
The design will enable vehicle re-charging, as well as the upload of acquired data and download of mission commands. Testing will take place at ORE Catapult’s National Renewable Energy Centre in Blyth, Northumberland. The first phase will use saltwater testing docks and Catapult’s National Anemometry Hub. Offshore wind farm developers Innogy, EDF Energy and E.ON are also supporting the project, with Innogy agreeing to carry commercial trials at the Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm. The Autonomous Vehicle for the Inspection of offshore wind farm Subsea INfrastructure (AVISIoN) project has received funding from Innovate UK.